Twilite
by GerudoGirl89
Summary: There are always other worlds, other truths, other lives to be lead. Maria Dragmire, grieving the loss of her family, must step out of the shadow of her fear, finding new friends along the way, to conquer the curse of Twilight and set the stage for the Hero's Quest in the final battle of Light against Darkness. A sequel to "New Beginnings."
1. The Beginning

**Twilite**

**Me: HI! Remember me? Gerudo and I decided to do a SEQUEL to**_** New Beginnings**_**! Everybody thank Seldavia for it, her PM is what convinced GerudoGirl to post it. As well as a few others :) TY to Onion1122 and Minty too!  
****Majora: Wave owns Maria. Maria owns the Gerudo. The Gerudo own your soul. Read the fanfic. And the title is misspelled because it's cooler.

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_"REINFOCEMENTS!" The last group of fresh soldiers rushed from every door, some leaping through larger windows, bows and arrows, spears, swords, and staves in hand. Black and purple fireballs crisped the Hylians to bits. She snapped one soldier's neck, keeping the fireballs away from the allies. _

_And then, in one heart-stopping moment, a soldier charged from his ranks, wielding an enormous axe, and chopped downward into the Gerudo King's chest._

_Ganondorf's eyes widened in shock and horror. He glanced toward her in an infinitesimal instant. Their eyes met briefly, and she started forward. His eyes closed. He fell._

"NO!" she sat up, trembling and terrified. Only two months ago now, it happened that very same way, exactly as she'd dreamed. The Hylians attacked the Gerudo, paying for it with their lives. She remembered the first few kills, but everything after it was rather fuzzy. The only things she could remember were Enari pledging solemn support of her role as Leader, and hearing the horrifying news, that Ganondorf Dragmire's body vanished without a trace just before it was moved.

Maria Dragmire sighed and looked around. She wasn't in her room, she was in the library, sitting at a table, head cushioned by a large pile of books. Ever since his death, Maria separated herself from her friends to read in the library, leaving it only when needed. Most of the work she had to do was with her in the cavernous room, papers to sign, complaints (surprisingly, fewer complaints from Enari than ever), schedules, and stock reports.

"Having a dream again?" Maria turned her head to look inquisitively at Seva, who stood beside the table. She grinned and shook out her long red hair. "Heard you muttering in your sleep."

Maria sighed. "Sorry. I was . . . working." In her spare time, she helped the girls cook, train with weapons, haul in goods, and various odd jobs to keep herself occupied. When everything was completely done, she read. Books on Gerudo language, Gerudo culture, Sheikah culture (everyone wondered why), maps of Hyrule field and Gerudo Valley, Ancient Hylian language, Gerudo law, and battle tactics.

"Why don't you just have someone teach you how to speak Gerudo?" demanded Seva. Maria shook her head uneasily.

"I'd hate to take anyone else's time to learn how to speak a language I should know," she replied, unusually quiet, even for her. Seva frowned.

"Whatever. Anyway, Rane's back. She wants to talk with you."

Maria sighed again. Rane had roaming in her blood, and often took days to travel through Hyrule and Termina. This time, she had planned to ride to Kokiri Woods, search around, and come back within the week. Two weeks ago. By now, the thief probably ran out of food and water. She also probably came back with nothing stolen from the Hylians.

Groaning, she followed Seva out of the library to have a chat with the returned wanderer.

-  
Meanwhile, unbeknownst to the Gerudo, Hylians, or any race, hostile or peaceful, a secret meeting was being held. Three people sat around an enormous table, watching a scene through the crystal ball in the middle of their table.

The smallest of the forms finally spoke. "It cannot go on this way," she said, brushing away the blue silk scarf tied around her shoulders.

"The _others _are in trouble. Send _her _to fix things." The second speaker had a commanding voice. "It must be mended. The danger must be eradicated."

"As you wish," the third replied, bowing out of courtesy. "This will be the trigger, then?"

The woman with the blue scarf nodded. "Send it back," she said. "Now."

The slender object vanished in a small burst of light, and the three figures left the room in silence.

-  
Rane stood beside a large sack full of supplies, waiting for Maria and Seva. The thief looked almost worried. She was a week overdue, what if Maria decided torture punishments should be brought back into Gerudo society?!  
While Rane sweated over her punishment, she fiddled with the little object she'd brought back as a personal gift for Maria herself. She hoped it would be enough of a peace offering, or, if not, at least a "thanks for being a nice person" present. Rane was almost certain it was rare; surely, _she'd _never seen anything like it.

"Rane?" the thief flinched, smoothing hair back from her face. Maria stood in the doorway, a solemn look on her face. Of course, it was expected. Maria hadn't smiled since Ganondorf's death.

"Um . . . Highness . . ." began Rane, but stopped when Maria lifted an eyebrow. Struck by how much she looked like Ganondorf, Rane began to laugh.

Maria openly stared. "Rane, are you . . . all right?"

Rane clutched her sides, falling to her knees in helpless laughter. "I'm so sorry, Maria," she choked. "It's just . . . you looked so funny, so much like Ganon—"

She stopped. Maria's face hardened considerably, but it was a calm tone in which she said, "You're a week later than expected."

Rane sighed. "Well, Miss, it happened strange-like." She fumbled for the words. "I was in Hyrule Castle Town, stealing things from the Hylians like a good little pickpocket, and . . . well, this might sound strange, but . . . I had this feeling. This feeling, it was like, like . . . I had to be somewhere, and that I couldn't resist if I wanted to. This pull was so strong, I jumped on my horse, ignored the good-looking Hylian I passed, and headed out for Kokiri Woods again. I'd been there before, but I missed this tiny little clearing towards the edge of the forest. I went in and looked around. It wasn't anything special, just a little spring, you know, some trees . . ." she fell silent. "Sorry, I was rambling a little, wasn't I?"

Maria nodded kindly. "Go on, though."

Rane swallowed hard. "Right. Anyway, I poked around, looked under rocks, found some Rupees, checked the spring . . . and there was something glittery at the bottom. I fished it out with a stick."

"What is this object?" inquired Maria, expressing genuine curiosity. Rane appeared relieved, secretly hoping Maria forgot about her being a week late.

"It's this, ma'am." She handed over the tiny object on a slender silver chain. Maria inspected it interestedly. The object was small and black, made of something like stone or metal. Thin, sharp points made the pendant seem mysterious, dangerous, and beautiful all at the same time. The tiny runes carved deep into the stone (or metal? Or something else?) were bright orange, seeming to glow in the half-light cast by floating light orbs.

Maria remained silent for a few moments. "It's very old," she said at last. "Powerful. I can sense that much." A light trace of purple ghosted around her and the object, then vanished like a mist. "However, it's nothing I've heard of, sensed, or read about. Not that I'm a living expert on everything magical." She sighed.

_Damn. Almost managed a smile out of her. _Aloud, Rane said, "So, what should I do with it? I was going to give it to you as a gift . . ."

Maria pondered, turning the pendant over in her fingers. "I'll see what I can learn about it," she answered finally. "Rane, I'd like you to show me where you found this."

"Sure. I'll just finish putting this stuff away." She gestured to the bag of supplies. Maria nodded again and turned to the door.

"Oh, and Rane?" Rane glanced up. Maria watched her from the doorway. "Two hours extra watch for being late and not alerting me as to _why_. You could have contacted me at any time."

Rane's shoulders slumped. "Never miss a beat, do you?"

"No."

Rane sighed. "You know what, you remind me of someone."

Maria frowned. "Rane . . ."

"No, I didn't mean Ganondorf. I meant . . . I meant your mother."

The girl's face twitched. "Thank you . . . I guess." She turned and left without another word.

-  
Fifteen Gerudo waited impatiently for Rane to arrive. Maria gathered them up to take a little trip to the Kokiri Woods because Rane found some mysterious rock. At Nabooru's insistence, the girl reluctantly enlisted a travelling party for a weeklong trip to Kokiri Woods and back, despite her insistences that she could travel alone.

Maria, seated on top of a large, black mare, waited with a calm expression that, like that of her father before her, did nothing to betray anything she might be thinking. Many things were tumbling around inside her head, such as Rane's words regarding her mother, about Ganondorf and Nabooru, Vaki and his friends, about the first time, and the last time, she'd spoken with Ganondorf, the last time he'd met her eye, moments before his death . . . .

"Maria?" she snapped to attention. Kuza looked up at her anxiously. "Are you all right?"

"Yes," she replied absentmindedly. "Uh, has Rane come yet?"

"We're waiting for your order, ma'am."

She reddened. "Of course you are. Sorry. Um . . . let's go, I suppose."

Kuza shouted orders to move out. Her horse fell in step with Maria's, but from the vacant look on the younger girl's face, she wouldn't be able to wrangle a conversation out of her. She, too, had the ability to withdraw into herself and ponder on a question for hours on end.

It was almost as if Ganondorf had been reborn in the form of his own child.

-  
The days passed quietly. Though the girls talked and joked, it seemed to have no effect on the heavy, moody, and somber silence that descended on Maria and all who came close to her. The interest that fueled her desire to inspect the clearing in Kokiri Woods faded, and the shine was once again gone from her eyes. She never spoke a word except for soft commands to stop and camp and to continue on in the morning. Kuza had the odd feeling Maria hadn't eaten anything either. She had grown paler and thinner in the last two months, and her reaction time when sparring declined. Kuza also privately believed a six-year-old to be bigger in height, and weight, than Maria was.

"Maria?" she looked up from the sword she polished with an old rag. Her eyes were cold and dull, barely reflecting the light from the campfire that the others sat around, laughing about some recent bit of gossip.

"Yes?" she asked abruptly.

"All right, I'll be frank. Have you eaten at all since we left the Fortress, three days ago?"

Maria thought about it. "No," she said at last. "Why?"

Kuza gaped at her. "Are you crazy? Are you _trying _to starve yourself to death?!"

"Don't be silly." Maria stood up, sliding her sword back into its sheath. "I won't starve. I'm fine."

"But _why_," the thief pressed, "are you refusing yourself food?"

Maria looked directly into Kuza's eyes, catching and pinning her in place with the strength of her cold gaze. "Let's just say, Kuza, that the closer we get to Hyrule Castle, the way I am acting right now will seem warmer and friendlier." And with that, she went out for a walk.

That night, Maria's dreams were confused and frightening. She dreamed about Ronan and Ganondorf, about what Kuza said about her mother, about Rane and the mysterious pendant that dominated her thoughts. Ronan died in her arms and Ganondorf wove in and out of her sight, never saying a word. And at last, everything descended into darkness, leaving that black-and-orange crystal hovering in front of her. And then she woke up, sweating and trembling in the dark, wondering what it all meant.

-  
Kokiri Woods was quiet, filled with a late-afternoon, silvery-blue mist that clung to their skin and clothes in tiny crystalline drips. Their breath steamed in the cool air, adding to the sweet-smelling mist. Their horses' hooves muffled by the soft moss coating the ground, the party moved along, talking quietly, voices a dull murmur that barely reached Maria's ears.

"It's right around here." Rane broke the near-silence at last. "Through those trees, I think."

Maria dismounted and motioned for the others to do the same. "We'll see about that," she said. "Three of you stay here with the horses." Enari, Rupee, and Brekka nodded obediently. The others started into the woods.

The trees were thick, forcing the Gerudo to find their own way through, yelling out directions for their friends. "Certainly many more trees than I remember," muttered Rane. She accidentally bumped into Maria. The girl fell hard. Just as she was about to get up, the earth beneath her gave way. She gave one yelp of surprise before the ground completely crumbled, sending her tumbling down a previously unnoticed hill into the verdant canopy below. "Maria!" screamed Rane. She tried to follow, but too late. The girl was already out of sight, scratching her face on brambles and thorns, bumping into logs and rocks, cutting her hand on a thorny vine when she tried to stop by grabbing onto a tree limb. "MARIA!"

The fall seemed to take forever. All she could feel was pain, all she could see were flashes of rotating colors. Maria finally halted, curled into a ball, blood dripping from her hands and face. There was absolute silence save for the chirping of some unseen bird. Stiffly, she pulled herself upright. Nothing was broken, but her bruised arms and legs and the cut over one eye told the tale. Silently, she thanked the Goddesses that she'd survived.

The clearing she'd landed in was small but peaceful, soft moss cushioning the ground under her feet. In the center was a tiny pool, framed by some beautiful trees. Water spouted from a spring and slid down into the pool, crystal-clear and reflecting the light of the sun through the trees. It was exactly as Rane described. This was, without a doubt, where the young thief had found that strange pendant.

"Rane, I found it!" she moved closer to the spring, one foot nearly touching the water. "Rane? Kuza?" she yelled. "Anyone?!"  
There was no response.

"RANE?! Kuza! For Farore's sake, if you're up there, answer me!" Maria heard a faint yell in the distance. "HAKKAI?! Rane?!" Frustrated, she turned around. The spouting water gleamed different colors, blue, red, green . . . gold . . . and then, something began to tug at her insistently. She spun around. Nothing there.

The tug came again. It felt like someone invisible had wrapped their arm around her. It felt like a spell. There were the familiar, faint vibrations in the air. She scanned the area. Nothing except a bird. Unnerved, she strained her ears for any calls from her friends.

Something caught her, binding her with invisible ropes that seared with fire. She tried to scream, but no sound came out, and fought viciously against the bonds, a frenzied purple aura of her own magic sparking around her person. With one final wrench, the spell won. She gave up fighting it. The bonds had wrapped around her throat, and she fought now, not only to escape, but to breathe. At last, she stopped fighting, and fell into an oblivion so deep, she wondered if she'd ever breathe again.

**

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****Me: WOOT!! Nearly six pages! That's a record! I love fan fiction!  
****Zelda: Let me guess. You plan on talking until you HAVE six pages.  
****Me: Damn straight, lady.  
Taki: Hey, Wave, why are all your assistants female?  
Taki: You've got me, Xianghua, Cassandra, Talim, Zellie, Nightmare . . .  
****Nightmare: Are you calling me a woman?  
Taki: No, you're the only man among us.  
****Me: . . . Are you calling ME a woman?  
Taki: Maybe.  
****GerudoGirl89: Guys, we passed the 6-page mark already.  
****Everyone else: Sweat-drop. SORRY!  
****Taki: Review wonderful peoples! Gerudo gets 20 hits but 1 review, and she doesn't think it's fair. Review if you view!  
**


	2. A New World

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Chapter 2: A New World

_**Hey, guys. I have to write this chapter, Wave's being lazy and I'm tired of editing. I know the whole dang storyline better than he does, so I'll take over for him for a while. **__**Second of all, I'm VERY sorry this is coming out late. I've encountered a rather difficult family problem, and it's made me so depressed I haven't written anything in a while.  
**_**Majora: Everyone knows Gerudo owns nothing. So go away lawyers.  
**_**Special thanks to Sakurahanaalice, Seldvia, and "Some one" for reviewing!**_

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Sky. Rushing water. Maria groaned, opening her eyes. Everything hurt, her head especially. Soft grass and moss brushed her neck. "Ugh . . . . What the hell?" and then she remembered. "Rane?!" She jumped to her feet. Anxiously, she started to lose her composure, angry with them for keeping her waiting. _This isn't __**right**__ . . . where is everyone? They were just up that hill . . . _except there _was no hill. _

The spring beside her was not the same. The whole area, surrounded by high walls of natural earth and stone, was unfamiliar. Water spilled from a higher pool into the sand, barely ankle-deep. Large, peaceful trees framed the pool, letting in tiny shafts of light. A rainbow stretched across the rocks, and a cool breeze ruffled her hair.

This wasn't the same place she'd been.

_All right, calm down . . . _she took a deep breath . . . .

And began to yell. "Rane?! Kuza! Hakkai?! _Anyone_?! Hello?!" she ran from one end of the area to the other. "HAKKAI?! Farore's Wind, where are you?!"

A sudden snap sounded behind her, and then a voice came from behind. "Are you lost?" she whirled around. A young boy, maybe fourteen or fifteen, stood at the enclosure entrance. He wore gray pants cut off at the knee, a white, simple shirt stained with dirt, and no shoes. His long, black hair ended roughly at the shoulder, his skin tanned from the sun. However, despite his rather untidy appearance, he seemed like someone she could trust.

"W-what?" she stuttered blankly. He'd spoken, but she hadn't heard, as caught up in panic as she was.

The boy clicked his tongue. "I said, 'are you lost?'" he repeated slowly. "Who're you calling for, anyway?"

"I . . . I was looking for my friends," she said hesitantly. "They were . . . I don't know where, I saw them, we were traveling together . . . ." she trailed away, but the boy gave her a strange look.

"Well, there's no one around here, kid," he replied. "What's your name?"

It took a long moment for her to speak. "Maria . . . ." _What's the harm in telling him my name? _she wondered. _Best not even to think of those possibilities.  
_  
"Well, Maria, I'm Natrias, but you can call me Nat. Everyone does."

She lifted one eyebrow. In one of her father's books, she'd read about Natrias, the corrupt Hylian King finally killed for the sake of Hyrule by Rixa II, his own wife. Why a commoner had a noble's name, she did not know. Of course, her brain was only throwing out random facts to ease the mounting panic before she went insane.

"Nice to meet you." Maria remembered something else. "This may sound strange, but I need to know. Where exactly are we?"

Nat looked even more surprised. "You don't know?"

"I wouldn't ask if I did know," she growled curtly. He rolled his eyes. Obviously, wherever he came from, he was used to sarcastic comments by the females in his life.

"We're in Hyrule."

There was a silence, and then Maria realized the oddness of his statement. "What?! We can't be! I was just . . ." her voice trailed away weakly. She cleared her throat. "I mean, we were, my friends and I, were heading for Hyrule, but we were miles away . . . how did I get here?"

Nat shrugged. "You look tired," he commented. "And you're bleeding." It was true. A thin line of blood dripped from her cheek. She scowled and brushed it away impatiently.

"What of it?" she demanded coldly.

He sighed. "Come with me, I'll take you home. My mother might be able to help you, or Aunt Uli." He turned and walked away briskly, but she remained rooted to the spot. "Are you coming?!" he yelled. She scowled and ran to catch up.

-- & --

Natrias lived in a small, simple house in a small clearing, removed from the village he called "Ordon." As he opened the door to his home, Maria saw four or five other people rushing about the house, gathering clothes, cooking, working on various tasks. "Maria, this is Messa," he pointed to a girl sitting at the foot of the stairs. She couldn't have been much older than five, with long black hair and bright green eyes. Her clothes consisted of a plain white dress and gray leggings. Messa smiled childishly and greeted her in a piping voice, but Maria remained coldly impassive. She never really liked young children, having no experience in interacting with them.

"Who's this, Nat?" a young woman, maybe sixteen years old, stood at the base of the stairs, a basket of laundry in her arms, long, blonde hair tied in a braid. Stern blue eyes sparked at the sight of Maria, a look nothing short of distaste. Maria met the glare with an equally venomous one of her own.

"Rama, this is Maria. I found her outside, in Ordon Spring."

"Hmm." She seemed skeptical. "Aunt Uli?" she called.

"Yes, Rama?" An older woman came from a room at Rama's call. Her short, sunny hair lay over the top of her head, her pale face gleamed pink with heat from the cooking she had been attending to. Her clothes were simple, held together with scraps of cloth and a thick belt. She looked like a friendly sort of woman, and instantly, Maria liked her.

"Natrias brought something home." Rama waved a hand in Maria's direction, and then stalked off without looking back.

Uli looked worried. "Oh, dear," she sighed. "Forgive Rama, she is not very trusting. What's your name, dearie?"  
While Natrias introduced Maria, the girl noticed Rama standing in the doorway of a room to the left, glaring with utter hatred at this intrusion in her home. Her eyes were narrowed; her hands gripped the doorframe with fingers turned white from the pressure. _Karir Saka," _she mouthed. In Ancient Hylian, it was an old saying. Rama would watch Maria carefully for any threat. And if she found something threatening about her, she would kill without hesitation.

_"Zaru Eanzami," _Maria silently replied in Gerudo._ I'm waiting._

_-- & --_

Dinner was a cheerful affair. Uli's husband, Rusl, and their son Colin came over to eat with Lia and Saru, Nat's parents, Messa, Nat himself, and Rama. All throughout the meal, Maria sensed Rama glaring at her. Although she attempted to block it out, the venomous blue eyes never left her face.

Finally, things took a disastrous turn. Rama looked Maria directly in the eye and said, "So, Maria," she said the word with raw sarcasm, "what brings you here?"

Nat, talking with his mother, immediately quieted. Rama's loathing glare never left Maria's face, but she remained emotionless.

"A few friends and I were travelling to Hyrule, I was separated from them," she said coldly.

"Oh? And what mother would allow their . . . offspring, to travel without them?"

For once, Maria let emotion show through. She scowled. "My mother is dead," she said flatly. _It's not really a lie, _she reasoned, _the Gerudo think she's dead, and I certainly don't know her . . . . _

Rama was smirking. "Well, then, were you travelling with your father's new wife?"

"No. He's dead also. I'm alone."

Silence greeted her words, and Rama calmly took a sip of her drink. "Pity. You're probably the reason he's dead, am I correct?"

Maria was trembling in fury. "No, I am _not _the reason my father died." Everyone else focused on the verbal battle, Messa completely unaware of the problem. Lia and Saru watched Rama, but Nat, Uli, Colin, and Rusl stared openly at the foreigner.  
Rama was perfectly calm, a tiny smirk playing on her thin lips. "Well then," she mused, "perhaps he killed himself so he wouldn't have to take care of you. Probably hoped you'd die in a gutter somewhere."

Maria leaped up, but Uli, sitting next to her, pushed her down. "Rama," ordered Lia sharply, frowning at her smug daughter. "That is _quite _enough. How dare you insult our guest?"

"How can you call her a guest?!" demanded the infuriated teenager. "She's a worthless drain on society that nobody loves! It's why she's alone!"

Nat grabbed Maria's hand. "Come on," he said in a low voice. "Let's get out of here, let them argue."

-- & --

No one noticed Nat and Maria slip out of the dining room and into the kitchen. Once there, Nat sighed and held the door open a crack. "Wow, Rama looks pretty mad," he commented. "I wonder why she hates you so much."

Maria looked glum. "What she said is true. I am alone in this world. There isn't anyone else who cares whether I live or die." She rested her head in her hands. "My mother died at my birth, my father was killed a few months ago. I don't have anyone else . . . ." she trailed away dismally.

"Don't say stuff like that," ordered Nat. "If all else fails, maybe we can take care of you. Cheer up, Maria; it's not all that bad."

The girl sighed. "I suppose." Reluctantly, she went to peer through the crack with Nat.

Lia stood in front of Rama, an angry look on her wan face. Her hands twisted the fabric of her skirt. "Rama," she began sharply. "Why did you treat her so badly? She's only a child; she did nothing to hurt you or us . . . ."

"I don't care," hissed Rama. "I don't trust her, Mama. Did you see her _eyes_? They're yellow . . . it's unearthly. I've never seen a decent human being with eyes like _that. _And she carries a _sword_. What if she decides to use it? She could kill us all!"

"I doubt she will," replied Naru sternly. He locked his hands behind his back. "She's a small, frightened child trying not to let her fear show. She's been separated from her friends; she's alone in Hyrule without a family." Maria was faintly shocked that Naru could sense all that, he'd barely spoken a few words to her. Her respect for the family rose considerably.

"Besides," added Rusl, playing with the hilt of his knife, "one child against me, Naru, and Nat? The kid doesn't stand a chance."

Rama scowled in frustration. Her hands shook angrily, her eyes flashed in the direction of Rusl, Uli, Naru, and Lia in turn. Colin, uncomfortably close to this battle, quailed under her fierce stare. Finally, jaw twitching, Rama stood abruptly, upsetting a cup of water. She twirled around, skirts billowing, and left without another word, vanishing into the living room.

-- & --

That night, Maria shared a room with Nat, Messa sleeping peacefully in her tiny bed across the hall. The room was small and plain, consisting of a bed, a dresser, a desk, and a bookcase with a few books, all made of simple wood.

Maria lay on the floor, staring at the low ceiling. At her insistence, Nat slept in his own bed instead of sacrificing it to her. Now she pondered on the many facts of her predicament in the peace and serenity of night.

_If this is Hyrule . . . No, it can't be. There is no Ordon Village in Hyrule. This can't be real . . . . _It was a question she'd avoided all day, trying to make sense of her predicament. Nat called this place, "Hyrule." The place Maria grew up was called "Hyrule." There were multiple similarities, such a Princess Zelda, the Triforce Crest, the Three Goddesses, and a fabled Master Sword. The fate of her homeland here was, to her, yet unknown.

_Home . . . . _Maria missed the Gerudo, her own home at the Fortress. She missed Hakkai, Rupee, Rane, Seva, and even Enari. Homesickness welled up inside her, but she viciously banished the thought. The time to cry would come later, when she knew what was happening.

Thoughts of home brought back a memory, sitting in the library shortly after her father's death. She was reading a passage from one of his books. It was a study on parallel universes. According to the book, there could be multiple worlds with many similarities in existence, no two quite the same, whether it was geographic or cultural differences. Various scholars attempted to explain the reason behind the multiple worlds. Some guessed magical mistakes, an error on the Gods' part that produced more universes than needed. A few believed the choices the Goddesses/people made created new worlds where the outcomes of such choices played out.

_If this is an alternate reality, then . . . why am I here? _she mused._ Gods above, __**how **__did I get here? Some fluke in time and space? _The possibilities made her head ache.

Something made her pause. Hesitantly, she stood up and went to the window. Outside, the sun gave way to gentle shades of purple and deep blue, tiny stars gleaming in the night sky. The grass swayed gently in the fields beyond, waist-high and still a deep, lush green. The perfect image of peace.

But the sky . . . Maria's neck prickled. Her hand went to her pocket to brush against the crystal Rane gave her. It made her strangely lightheaded to touch it, but once she withdrew her hand, it began to shine, her fingers tingling oddly from the contact. There was a certain hostile apprehensiveness in the air, a feeling of poorly concealed danger about to strike. The world darkened, the grass stopped moving. Everything was utterly still.

Maria watched the developments, head tilted upward, tense and waiting, for whatever occurred next. Slowly and deliberately, she reached for her sword, propped against the dresser in its sheath, the belt still hanging from it. She slid it over her head and onto her waist, waiting, watching . . . .

Something ripped, high overhead. The sky turned black, a soft, slightly sweet scent swept into Maria's nose. The black patch in the sky began to glow with blood-red runes, and from it, tiny fragments plummeted to earth, resolving into a shape. Bright red, inquisitive eyes watched her from the field, the owner floated into the air to the window. Its skin was a combination of black and white that wove around each other in spirals and thin, graceful spikes. The turquoise runes, similar to that of the portal it came from, glowed in the night. Thin lips twitched in a ghost of a smile, the eyes watched her unblinkingly.

"Who are you?" Maria's own voice sounded faint to her ears. The red eyes glowed catlike, but the creature stayed silent.

Finally, it raised one hand. It was black, with blue runes around the base of its ring and pointer finger. A single trail of white stretched from the wrist to the tip of the middle finger, a thin wisp like a column of retreating smoke. The thing smiled, tiny, too-white teeth gleaming in the night.

"I am Luna, Protector of the Twilight," she answered, in a soft, deep, strange-sounding voice. "And you, Maria Dragmire, are the one I have been Chosen to aid. And by the Goddesses, you'll need my aid before long."

_**

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**__**Okay, not a good ending. But, well, I'm really tired. I haven't had a very good few weeks, it's been hard for me with concerts and recitals and other miscellaneous crap. Wave, oddly enough, is actually TRYING to catch up on homework. **_**:D**_** LOL  
**__**Second, if anyone wants to draw Maria Dragmire, I'd be grateful. I'm no artist, and Wave doesn't draw people well, just weapons and animals. Just post it on Deviant Art or whatever place accepts art. I don't want people emailing it personally, so if you don't have a DA/other Internet account, don't worry about it.**_

_**Third, I've learned that some people don't like me, simply because it's me. That REALLY sucks . . . . But this isn't supposed to be ranting time. Review!!**_


	3. Journey's Beginning

**Chapter 3: Journey**

_**Ugh… Don't even tell me how long it's been, I'll probably shoot myself. I've been busy with my new DeviantArt page (link accessible from profile) and various other stories. You know that oneshot I promised? I'm STLL working on it. --' Please, if I take this long the next time, PM me. PLEASE. Remind me in a few weeks to POST SOMETHING!!  
**__**Anyway, Wave is grounded for some crappy thing and I have to type this up. **__**

* * *

**_

**Gerudo Valley:  
**

Nabooru drained her glass of wine, thoroughly depressed. Two days ago, fifteen warriors had been sent out to find Maria, who'd apparently vanished without a trace in the middle of Kokiri Forest. With help from a few other magic users, Nabooru teleported the party who traveled with Maria back home. Each woman gave the same report: One minute, Maria stood beside her; the next minute, she was falling out of sight. Several of them pursued her, but to no avail. The girl was gone.

"Nabooru?" It was Hakkai, pale and worried for her friend. She dropped onto the couch without an invitation. "Have they found anything?"

Nabooru shook her head dismally. "Nothing. Not even a scrap of cloth," she said gloomily. "We've got dogs, of course, but Maria's scent isn't strong enough." She slammed a fist into her leg. "Damn it, where could she be?!"

Hakkai shrugged. "Seva's distraught; she really liked Maria. Rupee isn't leaving her room. We all blame ourselves, but Rane most of all. She convinced Maria to check out the spring, which we never saw, by the way. It vanished."

"Hakkai, I can't do this." Nabooru buried her face in her hands. "I lost my mother, I lost my sisters, I lost my brother, and now I've lost Maria. I _promised _I'd take care of her if anything happened to him, and now she's gone."

"Stop feeling sorry for yourself," growled a voice. It was Larra, the chief healer, and her assistant Dani. Larra was an older Gerudo; she'd delivered Nabooru and all her siblings, barely twenty years old at the time herself. Her weathered, motherly face had a few crisscrossed scars, as if to show how tough the woman could be. Her red hair was always pulled back, to keep it out of her way while handling patients.

Dani was younger, eighteen at the most, a fresh transfer from Termina Bay's Pirate Headquarters. More healers were needed after the last battle with the Hylians, so Maria had ordered them from their Pirate cousins. Her smooth skin, barely marked from war and training, illustrated an easier life than most. Her normally cheerful, soft brown-amber eyes seemed troubled, though she barely knew Maria.

"Anything?" asked Larra. Hakkai shook her head. "Damn it." She rubbed her face tiredly. "How does a kid disappear?"

"It's the Forbidden Woods," groaned Nabooru, pouring herself a glass of wine. Her hands trembled as she did so. "Maria's probably been cursed, just like the stories. She'll be a Stalchild, or worse, a Re—"

"Stop that!" Larra wrenched the wine from Nabooru's hand, shoving it into Dani's. "And don't drink that anymore. Listen to me." She forced Nabooru to look her in the eye. The younger woman's lips trembled, her eyes bright with held-back tears. "That kid is not dead," she said firmly, giving Nabooru a little shake. "You hear? She's no Stalchild or, Goddesses forbid, a ReDead. She's alive. She's a fighter, you know she is. And I know too."

"What do you mean?" asked Hakkai.

Larra smiled grimly. "I delivered that child, didn't I? Maria had to struggle to draw breath for _hours_. She had to fight to live when she was newborn. And through barely any assistance of mine, she survived. She survived to have that _woman_," here she spat on the floor, "take her away."

"Remember, that woman was my brother's wife," said Nabooru quietly.

"Well, she didn't do anything for him in the end," replied Larra bitterly. "Where's she? Her daughter grew up with terrible people, her husband's dead, her child's missing."

"What do you mean, 'terrible people?'" asked Hakkai.

Larra scowled. "There was more to Maria's history than she told us," she said. "Some of those scars didn't look natural for an eleven-year-old. She _never _wore short sleeves or short pants, or even low-cut shirts. She never went barefoot, she always had knives hidden somewhere, positioned for easy access, and she seemed used to pain. Remember when she broke her fingers in the fight with Enari? She didn't wince while I fixed her up. I half expected her to say, 'No, its fine, I'll keep it this way.' Whenever you mentioned her past, she'd grow cold and change the subject. Then there's that sword. Handmade steel, well crafted, sharp, serviceable, and something Maria never lets out of her sight. I asked her where she got it, and she told me her friend made it for her. When I pressed her for a name, she refused to say, but I noticed a tear on her cheek, which she brushed away. She was _crying _about it, and trying not to show her tears. Now _there's _an issue."  
Larra fell silent, looking about triumphantly. No one spoke for the longest time.

"I think," it was Nabooru's voice. "That we should all go to bed, and worry about this if Maria returns."

Only Hakkai was brave enough to question, "And if she doesn't?"

Nabooru bowed her head. "Then Maria's secrets die with her."

--&--

**Near Ordon:**

Despite Nabooru's beliefs, Maria was still alive. However, she now faced a new problem, a certain Twilight Being called Luna. The Twili floated in Nat's room, observing the furniture with a raised eyebrow.

Maria ignored her common sense. She grabbed Luna's arm and dragged her out of the room, oblivious to the creature's snarled protests. She didn't want Natrias waking up and inquiring about Luna's appearance.

Out in the hall, Maria dropped Luna's arm and braced herself against the wall. "What was that for?!" demanded Luna.

"Quiet!" the girl hissed back. "Keep your voice down! Do you want to get caught?"

"Not by Light dwellers."

"Good, because I don't want to explain your appearance to the family."

"All right then." Luna lazily plucked a dry leaf from her cloak and tossed it down the stairs. "Now what?" she asked expectantly.

"First, who are you and what are you doing here?" Maria replied softly. "And make it quick, I don't want to wake anyone up."  
Luna smirked. "I'm a Twilight Guardian, a Priestess dedicated to the Temple of Twilight. I'm the sister of Princess Midna, ruler of our dark realm." She ended with a feral grin. "Your turn."

Maria tilted her head. "Twilight Realm?"

"It's a realm attached to your Light Realm," explained Luna calmly, "full of a special blend of Dark and Light magic. The inhabitants are a race known as Twili. They're all like me, black and white with colored runes."

"Who do you worship? You mentioned a Temple."

"We worship Din, Farore, and Nayru, like you humans. I don't know why, though," a half smile appeared on her face, simultaneously amused and grim. "They sealed us away in the Twilight."

Maria nodded to show she understood. "All right then, why are you here?"

Luna bit her lip. "I'm not so sure," she admitted. "I was in the temple, in the back room reserved for the priests and assistants. I was praying as I usually do, kneeling before the pedestal that contains the largest Twilight Crystal in the whole realm. It's not a holy item, it's decorative, a sort of shrine to the Gods."

"As interesting as this is," interrupted Maria. "What does it have to do with your arrival here?"

Luna grinned. "Right. Anyway, all of a sudden, a pure white light fell on the crystal from the opening in the ceiling. It looked like Light magic, so naturally, I took a step back. Too much Light essence hurts a Twili. Then I heard this voice calling to me. _Luna . . . Luna . . . Luna, hear me. _It explained to me that there was someone in need, someone whose destiny intertwined with that of the entire Twilight Realm. She—it was a woman's voice— gave me your name. Then . . . ."

"What? Tell me!"

"I blacked out," said Luna simply. "I woke up as I materialized over this house."

Maria scowled. "That's a fat lot of help," she said sarcastically. "What am I supposed to do now?!"

"Keep your voice down," said Luna, smirking.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," grumbled Maria. "So what do we do?"

"We follow my feelings," the Twili replied smugly. "Right now, I can feel where we need to go, as clearly as though someone drew a map in my head. There's something here for you, I'm not quite sure what. Now let's get going."

"But _why_?"

"Don't you get it?" Everything except Luna's face seemed to fade. "_You're meant to do something in this world_," she said. "I don't know what, but the Gods want it this way. As soon as we're done here, you're going to take me back to the Twilight Realm."

Maria closed her eyes. "But . . . ."

"No buts. Leave a note or something, grab provisions. We're headed north," Luna ordered.

"You mean _now_?" Maria leapt to her feet. "It's not even dawn! I haven't had any sleep since yesterday."

"Do you want your friends to wake up and see me?!" hissed Luna, gesturing to the open door. Inside, Nat could be seen sleeping peacefully. "We go _now._"

Maria had to admit that the Twili was right. If anyone saw her, pitiful lies and excuses wouldn't protect her. She would be thrown out of the house, or worse, the village. "Fine!" she sighed. Stealthily, she reentered Nat's room and went to the desk. She hunted in the drawer, eventually producing a piece of paper, a pen, and ink. Hastily, she wrote:

_Dear Natrias,_

_I am grateful to you for allowing me to rest and recover here, and I apologize for any inconvenience I may have caused. I've decided it is time to leave. I do not wish to burden_ _your family any longer. You've done a lot for me, whether you realize it or not. I thank you._

_Best to you and your family,_

_Maria_

She left it simple and sincere, not bringing Luna into it at all. With a small sigh, she folded the paper and placed it in the center of the desk. She slipped out of the room, with one last look at the sleeping boy.

--&--

Luna was waiting outside when Maria finally emerged, clipping her sword belt to her waist. "You took forever," she commented, crossing her arms.

Maria scowled. "Let's go. Where are your feelings taking us?"

Luna thought a moment. "This way," she said, and led Maria down the path into Ordon. The thick trees obscured the sky, and rustled in response to a slight breeze. Maria couldn't help but feel nervous, and she slid a hand down to her waist, touching the hilt of her sword.

When Luna broke the silence fifteen minutes later, Maria actually jumped. "You know," she commented, "I asked you about your life, and you never answered. What's your history?"

Maria drew a breath, fixing her eyes on the road ahead. "It's a long story."

"We have a long journey."

Maria didn't feel particularly comfortable explaining her history to a stranger. However, as Luna pointed out, they had a long journey, and before the journey was over, they'd be more than strangers.

So she told her. Told her of her past, of Ganondorf, Nabooru, Enari, and the other Gerudo, of Ronan and the less painful, precious memories she still had left, how he had died. But she kept many things to herself. They were things she would take to the grave. No one had the right to know them.

Luna whistled quietly. "That's one hell of a story," she admitted. "I pity you, kid."

"Don't," Maria growled back. "Don't feel sorry for me. I don't deserve sympathy."

"That's really—"

"Where are we?" interrupted Maria, glancing around her. "This doesn't look like Ordon Village."

"You mean that little group of houses?" Luna snorted. "We walked around it. But its fine," she added hastily, seeing Maria open her mouth, "we'll have food by nightfall. Trust me."

"Why _should _I trust you?" she growled. "You're someone that's dropped into my life with a complete knowledge of what I _should _do, but you don't know your way around any better than me!"

"From the way things sound, your father and the Gerudo _also _just dropped into your life!" hissed Luna. "And you didn't mind _them_! What makes me so different? I'm being guided by the Gods!"

Maria's gaze dropped. "I'm sorry," she said at last. "I just . . . I don't trust easily."

"I noticed," sniffed Luna.

They walked on in silence for a while. The makeshift trail Luna directed Maria onto eventually met up with the path to Ordon Spring. Clean forest smells swept into her nose, a squirrel darted across the grass and into the trees. Maria was relieved when the trees finally thinned out, allowing light to chase away shadow. She sheathed her sword. A surprise attack would be harder to execute in daylight.

Luna became more irritated as the morning brightened. "Damn, I need to hide from the sun," she muttered. Without warning, her body broke apart into hundreds of tiny black squares and dove into Maria's shadow. The girl's eyes widened; she looked down. Her shadow seemed unchanged, but Luna had vanished.

_Do you like my disguise? _asked a voice. It sounded like Luna.

She lifted one eyebrow. "Lovely, Luna," she said sarcastically. Luna snickered. Maria ignored her and continued on her way.

Dawn came by the time they reached the spring where Maria first entered this strange universe. Maria noted that the gate to Faron Province was shut tightly. She scowled and tried to push it open; it was locked. "Great," she grumbled. She closed her eyes and prepared her magic. It was a simple spell; magic diverted into the legs strengthened them and made it easier to run and jump. She bent her knees, preparing to leap.

"I could do this for you, you know," commented Luna, popping out of her shadow.

Maria scowled. "I can do this," she growled. "It's a simple spell. I _can _do this." She leaped. A few seconds of blissful weightlessness passed before Maria realized her mistake. The gate came up alarmingly fast, and she realized with horror that she wasn't high enough. Before she could stop herself, she slammed into the top of the gate. Pain spread through her upper body as she hit the ground. Hard.

"Ouch!" commented Luna. Maria scowled, stood, and dusted herself off. Then, with great dignity, she tried the spell again, despite aching limbs and a bruised torso. "Why don't you just let me help?" the Twili asked. "It would save time and pain."

"Luna, be quiet!" she growled in response, and jumped up. This time, she had sufficient height to make it to the top of the gate, but not enough to get _over _it. She dropped clumsily over to the other side.

"Damn it!" she growled. "Damn . . . ." viciously she kicked at a stone. It rolled down a small hill, then dropped off the edge of a cliff less than twenty feet away. Maria waited for a sound to let her know when the rock hit the ground below.

It never came.

Anxiously, she ran to the edge and peered over. The depths of the enormous gap between Ordona Province and Faron Province were unimaginably deep. Natrias had told her that a river ran through the depths of the abyss, but Maria could hear no rushing water to betray its presence. A light blue-gray mist obscured the bottom from human vision.

Luna floated lazily over, staring down at the crevasse. "That's an impressive hole," she remarked. "Does it ever end?"

"All things come to an end," replied the girl. She peered at the bridge. The metal cords holding it up seemed pitifully thin. "I'm not sure we can cross this," she murmured.

"What's the matter? Scared?" asked Luna.

Maria scowled. "Not on your life," she muttered. Nevertheless, she reached up to her throat to touch something hidden under her shirt. After a few seconds of steeling herself, she took a step forward.

The boards were reassuringly firm under her feet. Emboldened by this knowledge, she increased her pace. A light gust of wind rocked the bridge. Maria immediately sank to the ground, remaining frozen in one position until the swaying ceased. She picked herself up and continued on, slower than before. In time, she made it to the other side. She dropped to her knees, taking deep breaths to calm herself. _Well_, she mused. _That was better than I expected._

_Come on! _ordered Luna. She'd slipped into Maria's shadow on the bridge.

Stifling a groan, Maria stood. The area was blank and rocky, the walls high around her. After about fifteen minutes, she noticed grass growing under her feet, giving the earth a softer appearance. All at once, she found herself in a forest clearing. The trees gleamed in the light, shining off the edges of the leaves. Butterflies fluttered around tiny yellow flowers. The soft ground was extremely tempting, and Maria was exhausted. She hadn't slept in two days. She sat down in the grass, resting her head on her arm.

_Don't you need to be somewhere?_ demanded a voice. It was Luna again.

Maria groaned. "Luna, I haven't slept since the night before last. Even then, I had a miserable night; I couldn't get to sleep for _hours_. I just want to rest for an hour or so. Just a little sleep."

_Fine. I'll give you two hours. But then, I'm waking you up._

"That'll do." Maria's eyes fluttered shut. Within moments, she was fast asleep.

--&--

**Gerudo Fortress:**

After two days of absolutely nothing, even Nabooru had to admit that it was time to stop sending searchers out for Maria. The latest party, including Yenna, Nori, and Rane, would be the very last group sent out. Maria was gone.

Larra, however, refused to believe the girl was dead. "She's a fighter," she kept insisting. Nevertheless, as the second day drew to a close without any sign that the child was alive, even Larra began to lose hope.

Seva sat in a chair in the Library, staring down at the pages of a book. She wasn't actually interested in reading it, but it gave her something to do. All she could think about was Maria.

Truthfully, Seva was the closest thing Maria had to a friend. She'd looked after Maria when she first came to the Fortress. They'd been more than acquaintances, certainly.

Yet everyone knew that Maria kept secrets. Privately, Seva berated herself for not asking about her history. She didn't know that much about her.

Frustrated, she flipped a page in the book. Then she stopped. In the book was a drawing, and it looked oddly like the gift Rane gave to Maria.

She stared down at the page, absorbing the information. _The embodiment of Dark Magic . . . extremely strong attraction . . . parallel time . . . ._

"Seva?" Hakkai sat next to her, a worried look on her face. "I saw you sitting here. What's wrong?"

Seva looked up. "I think I know what Rane gave to Maria. It's . . . ."

--&--

"A Shadow Crystal?"

Night had fallen by the time Maria woke up. Luna fell asleep without realizing it, and by the time she awoke, the daylight, and two hours, had long passed. Furious with herself, Luna had shaken Maria's shoulder. Naturally, she was surprised when something glowed from inside the girl's tunic pocket. Carefully, she drew out the prize.

What she saw shocked her. A Shadow Crystal, fresh from the Twilight Realm, sat in her palm. And it was a beautiful specimen, too; the perfect example of Twili magic, apart from the Fused Shadows. Luna, however, was confused. If this girl came from an alternate dimension, how did she get her hands on a Shadow Crystal?

Maria shifted sleepily. "Seva?" her voice was groggy, half-aware of her surroundings. "Oh . . . alternate realm. Luna?"

"H-here," she said shakily, still gaping at the Crystal. "Maria?"

"Huh? Luna, what's wrong?" she sat up quickly, drowsiness gone in an instant at Luna's tone. She reached into her shirt to touch the hilt of her knife. "Gods, it's late," she said, looking around with a yawn. "How long have I been asleep?"

"I don't know," admitted Luna, embarrassed. "I fell asleep too."

Maria smirked. "Well, looks like neither of us is infallible."

Luna scowled at her. "Whatever. Anyway, how'd you find this?" She held up the Crystal, which glowed faintly in the moonlight.

"I don't even know what it _is_," admitted Maria."Rane found it in Kokiri Forest. My friends and I were headed out to see where Rane found it, but . . . I became separated from them. When I woke up, I was in Ordon Spring."

Luna frowned. "In your world? What would a Twilight Crystal be doing where in your world?"

Maria shrugged, and glanced up at the sky. The moon seemed especially bright tonight. It gave the edges of the leaves a bright silver trim. A soft mist had descended on Faron Woods, covering the ground and muffling sound. Maria moved quietly down the path, swirls of mist wavering around her legs. Luna, able to survive in the darkness, popped out of Maria's shadow to walk beside her.

Soon, they came to a spring, similar to Ordon Spring and the one Maria found in Kokiri Woods. The water was cool and shallow, perfectly clear and clean. Luna walked into it, scattering the mist that blanketed the surface. She splashed some on her face, looked around for a minute, then calmly left the spring. Trails of tiny Twili symbols followed her feet, but quickly dissipated.

"There's magic in this water," she observed.

"That is relevant _how_?" inquired Maria.

Luna rolled her eyes. "It's just one of those things you notice, kid. Haven't you ever just stopped to enjoy the moonlight, to stop and smell the flowers?"

"We haven't been travelling for long," she replied abruptly. "Let's keep going until dawn."

Luna nodded. Maria gazed at the dark passageway they now had to enter. "It's an old tree," she noted, "with the center cut out. Perfect covered tunnel."

The Twili rolled her eyes. "Spare me the lectures on Hylian architecture, and keep walking."

Maria stifled a groan with difficulty and walked on. The tunnel wasn't actually that dark, or that long. Moonlight filtered through the trees to illuminate their way.

Yet, halfway through, something made Luna pause. Her body trembled with something close to anticipation. Magic flowed here, simultaneously familiar and foreign. She glanced at the moon, then at the thin air in front of them. "I feel something," she murmured. "Can you? It's just up ahead."

The girl closed her eyes. "Energy," she said at last. "Unknown energy. Sort of like yours but not quite. Somehow, it's more . . . ."

"Malevolent," supplied Luna, and Maria nodded. "I feel it too."

Unconsciously, Maria's hand slipped down to her pocket. She touched the Twilight Crystal.

The unfamiliar energy spiked; broad ribbons of reddish-black shadow sparkled through the air, heavy with orange and red runes. Like some form of malicious fog, they hovered in midair. The crystal glowed in response. A dull orange glow lit every tiny crevice in the material.

"Maria, don't go forward," said Luna immediately. "There's something wrong with this. That magic . . . its modified Twilight magic. The crystal is glowing, it's reacting."

Maria took Luna's advice, opting to step backward.

Big mistake.

At once, the evil energy shot toward them, completely ignoring Luna and engulfing Maria with a savage intensity. She wanted to cut it to pieces with her sword, but how can you attack energy? The force of the blow drove her to her knees. She screamed in agony. Her very bones seemed to be on fire. They shifted, burned, reformed; Maria's skeleton was changing before Luna's distressed eyes. Her shoulders broadened, shifted upward; her spine felt like it was splitting in two. Her neck lengthened, fingers shortened. Fur began to grow.

When it was all over, Maria staggered on all fours. Everything hurt. Her bones and muscles felt like they'd been torn apart. She closed her eyes against the physical torment. She fell over, panting and choking. _Luna_? she gasped. To her horror, her voice wasn't audible to the ears, only to the mind. She could only communicate with another person's consciousness, and very few had the ability to hear Inner Voices.

"Maria?" Luna knelt next to her. She reached out a hand to touch the girl's face. "You've . . . changed."  
_  
Into what_? she asked, panic creeping into her voice.

Luna hesitated. "Perhaps . . . do you really want to know?"

_Of __**course **__I want to know_, Maria retorted. _Tell me, __**please.**_

Luna bowed her head. "A wolf."

_**

* * *

Oh. My. GOD. 9 pages. 4150 words exactly. Don't complain about the time it took, I wrote 9 pages on top of digital arts classes and other fan fiction/Deviant Art. Be HAPPY!!**_

_**I know, we're late. Just deal with it and REVIEW!!**_


	4. Secrets of the Dawn

****

Chapter 4: The Secrets of the Dawn

**2008 was a bad year for me. I dropped off the FFN curve because I just couldn't stand writing this. I'm not doing very well, physically or emotionally. I needed lots of time off. 2009 will be better.**

* * *

Alone in her rooms that night, Nabooru lay on her bed, staring at the ceiling. Nothing interested her anymore. She'd felt this way since her brother's death; incomplete, numb, with an aching sense of _wrongness. _To keep her mind off the emptiness, she became Maria's companion. She felt she owed it to the poor, parentless child, and was determined to keep Maria alive and safe.

But sometimes, taking care of Maria was a challenge. She was a secretive, independent creature that kept her own schedule, regardless of anyone else's desires. Many times, late at night, Nabooru heard Maria pacing in her room. It was almost impossible to talk to her about her troubles. By dawn, the girl was already up and finished with a morning run, and she worked with the others late into the night. Nevertheless, for all her flaws, Nabooru loved her all the same.

Now even Maria was gone.

A sob escaped her lips. It was all so _hard. _Her brother had been there her entire life. He'd taken care of her after their mother died, had raised her and their two other sisters. She still couldn't accept the fact that he was gone.

She rolled over to glance at the window. It was nearly dawn. According to her clock, she had one hour of sleep left. Not that she actually managed to sleep at all. Closing her eyes, Nabooru tried to sleep.

A few moments later, her eyes snapped open. The room was suddenly colder. She glanced at her window, only to find it firmly closed and locked. She tilted her head, confused, and then lay back down.

_Sssshhh . . . . _She sat up quickly, blankets tumbling to the floor. "Who's here?" she demanded, trying to sound braver than she felt. "Answer me!"

The hair on the back of her neck prickled, a faint presence filled the room. For many years, Nabooru had known that she was more responsive to the presence of spirits than other Gerudo. Her mother called it "Spiritual Awareness." Her chest tightened with a rarely felt emotion; fear. _Something _was here, be it spirit or human.

"Who's there?!" she yelled, a hint of panic slipping into her sleepy voice. "Ganondorf, is it you?" Nabooru had grown up with the firm conviction that unhappy spirits commonly came back to haunt people for many reasons, and Maria's disappearance was certainly a good reason. Nabooru knew that her brother secretly loved his daughter, however he may have tried to hide it.

There was, of course, no answer. "Ganondorf, if it's you, I'm sorry about Maria," Nabooru whispered. "I . . . . I tried to protect her, but it was beyond my control! Don't punish me, please!"

The air throbbed. Whoever was in the room was very angry, according to her born ability to identify Spiritual emotion. She fell to her knees, petrified at the thought of the unknown.

"Ganondorf, I'm sorry! I tried! I _tried_! Please, I never meant for this to happen! I tried to love and protect her the way you would have, the way you wanted, but . . . she's gone! And th-there's n-n-nothing I can do . . . ." she broke down and wept. "S-s-surely you've found her in the afterlife?"

There was still no reply, but a second emotion, something akin to sadness, drifted through the room as an invisible aura. Nabooru peered through her fingers into the room, but there was nothing there. "You haven't found her?" she asked blankly.

Agreement mixed with the sadness and anger, which had dulled into a vague pulsing at the back of Nabooru's consciousness. "Why haven't you found her? In the afterlife, surely you could be guided to her . . . ." Then it clicked. "She's not dead, is she?" Nabooru whispered huskily.

More agreement. The spirit seemed pleased that she'd caught on so quickly.

"Is Seva right then?" she asked. "Is Maria in a parallel universe?" In a softer voice, she added, "Is she okay?"

The feelings vanished. Confused, Nabooru turned around, trying to hear or see something, _anything_ . . . . Then stopped. The soft, harmonious chords of a gentle melody filled the room, even though the windows and doors were closed. It was the sound of a piano, an instrument Ganondorf loved to play during his life. Suddenly terrified, she stood up and dashed from her room, down the halls, to Ganondorf's study.

As soon as she pushed open the doors, she screamed in horror. The piano was playing on its own, playing a song she knew from many years ago. Ganondorf had written it himself, for his wife. Terrified, she waited breathlessly in the doorway, frozen in place. Finally, the piano fell silent. She took a few steps into the room. Her feet padded softly on the worn carpet. The first thing she noticed was the note lying on the bench. Trembling, she stepped a little closer. Nothing happened. She raced across the room and snatched the note up. It said:

_Maria. Lost._

_Not safe. Help her._

_Twilight. Twili._

_Help._

Then, an apparent shift of emotions.

_Sister._

_Love you._

_Be safe._

_What does this mean? _she thought. _Not safe, help her, lost, I understand that. But . . . what does Twilight have to do with anything? What is Twili? Do I have to help it or them, him or her? _Tears began to form in her eyes as she read the rest. _"Sister, love you, be safe." Oh, Ganon . . ._

She sobbed helplessly, clutching the note to her heart. Again, the overpowering pain crashed through her body like a deadly wave, reminding her that her brother was _gone. _Gone forever, never coming home.

And as the day wore into morning, Nabooru slipped into a deep sleep on the floor of her brother's study, dwelling once more on Maria and her plight.

_Lost._

_Twilight._

_Maria._

_Not safe. Help her._

_Lost._

* * *

Meanwhile, in the parallel universe of Hyrule, Maria lay on her side, trying to breathe through her agony. Her bones still burned with fire, her muscles felt like they were being strained to their limits. She twitched convulsively, foam dripping down her long pink tongue from between her pearly-white fangs. Her tail, somehow able to move without her realization, swished back and forth rapidly as her paws jerked and dug at the ground. _Goddesses help me,_ she thought wildly. _Please. Someone. Anyone._

"Maria, it's okay!" cried Luna. She dove towards the transformed girl. A bolt of black energy shot from her fingers into the wolf's fur. She was relieved to see the taunt muscles beneath the black fur relax a bit. "I can't heal," Luna explained hurriedly, "but I can ease it. The Twilight is poisoning you, I think. I can't tell. Please, stop thrashing around."

She held the wolf's legs down, all four of them, praying to the gods for help. No matter how violently she shook, Luna kept her hold. She soothed the poor girl with meaningless whispers and more pulses of magic.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Maria stopped shaking. Luna peered anxiously at her face. Her yellow eyes were half-open, and her sides swelled with deep, difficult breaths. "Are you all right?" she asked uncertainly.

There was no response from the girl. "Maria? Maria?! Wake up!" The Twili shook her, hesitantly at first, then more urgently. "Maria . . . ." She bit her lip until a drop of silvery-blue blood appeared. _She's unconscious, I guess. But what am I supposed to do until she wakes up? _She glanced around. _There's no shelter . . . ._

And it was true. Besides the tunnel, there seemed to be nothing to hide in, no hole in the ground or patch of trees. A drop of rain fell onto her nose. Luna glanced at the sky. Black clouds obscured the stars. _Uh-oh. That's not good. _The wind, which had been calm, began to pick up. A storm was coming, no doubt about it.

Luna took hold of Maria's back paws. They twitched weakly. Gathering her nerve, Luna pulled Maria into the tunnel. It was slow work. Maria was dense, a dead weight that made dragging her along extremely arduous. By the time she was finished, both wolf and Twili were soaked to the bone from the rain.

Shivering, Luna slipped out of her sodden cloak. Cold wind whipped through the tunnel, bringing freezing rain with it. Numb, Luna crawled over to Maria, and placed a hand on her side. Her breathing and heartbeat were dreadfully faint. "Maria," she whispered. "Maria, please. Please wake up. Please. Don't die. I _can't _fail this early! I can't! Wake up!"

But Maria didn't even move. Stifling her moan of misery, Luna rocked back and forth, hugging herself in the cold. _I have to get warm . . . _she thought. _Now. Or neither of us will make it. _She glanced around. Near the mouth of the tunnel was a pile of wood, probably left by travelers. She dragged it over. _Thank the gods, its dry! _Calling upon her Twilight magic, she waved a hand above the wood. It burst into flames. Heat washed over her life a wave. Greedily, she hunched as close as possible to the tiny campfire. After a few minutes, she straightened and hauled Maria closer. "Come on," she murmured. "Stay alive, for me. Please."

Luna made herself comfortable, keeping an eye on the barely-breathing wolf, while the wind howled around them and the rain poured down from the heavens, as if the gods themselves wept over their suffering.

So absorbed as she was on watching Maria, Luna failed to notice when the whistling wind stopped rushing through the tunnel, but rather around it, as if a barrier had been erected around their shelter. She failed, too, to notice the strange creature that watched them from a tree. When it finally took flight, flapping on vast leathery wings, Luna was already asleep.

* * *

"Nabooru. Wake up."

"Go away, Hakkai. I'm not taking your shift."

"Nabooru! Wake up right now!"

Nabooru jolted to attention. Hakkai stood above her. "Finally!" she snapped, looking impatient. "What are you doing lying on the floor?"

The second-in-command blinked. "Huh?" Then she remembered, and leapt to her feet. She was in Ganondorf's study. "Oh, Din! I heard the piano, and . . . ." she hesitated. "I . . . . I went to see who was in here."

"There's no one, Nabooru. Besides, you're a couple hours late for your shift."

Nabooru scowled. "I knew that. The piano played on its own. And there was a note left on the bench . . . ."

"What note?"

"This one." When she held out her hand, she was surprised to find it empty. "It _was _here . . . ."

"There's no time for that. Someone came here to talk to you. He said he's traveled a long time to see you, and refuses to leave until he does. He even followed me in here."

Nabooru frowned. "Where is he?"

"Right here, my dear." A very familiar figure stepped out from behind Hakkai. His expression was openly amused. "Right here, and surprised to find you sleeping on the floor."

Nabooru gaped. "What are you doing here?" she whispered in alarm. "What the hell are you doing here?! You're . . . you're . . . ."

"What's the matter, surprised to see me?" He bared his fangs in a grin. When she didn't respond, he continued. "It has been quite a long time, yes, I am aware of that. I wouldn't have come at all, but I was asked to give you a message." He pushed his long hair back and cleared his throat. "A rather important message, if you would; a matter-of-life-or-death message."

"And what might that be?" she asked him. Unbeknownst to him, her mind reeled. _This can't be happening. He's not . . . he's not supposed to be here. He's supposed to be __**dead! **__How __**dare **__he walk right in here, charming the guards into thinking he isn't dangerous, getting close enough to hurt me the most when I'm down. Ooh, if I __**ever **__find the guards who let him in, I'll . . . ._

Despite all her rage and her muddled thinking, the very alive visitor smirked up at her. "Don't interfere," he ordered.

She scowled at him. "Very funny. Tell me the message!"

"That _was _the message," he said smoothly. Rage pricked her; she suddenly wanted to fling something at his arrogant face. "If you want your niece to live, don't interfere."

The fury drained away, leaving a sort of horror. How did _he _know about Maria?

"Is that a threat?" she asked him softly. Behind him, Hakkai drew her knife, face as hard as stone.

He shook his head. "No. Not a threat. Don't interfere, Nabooru. Don't send any more searchers. Everything will work out if you cease your tireless effort. If not, you may end up killing her with a false move." The smirk vanished. "Beware, Nabooru. The simplest thing you do to help her, may be what finally ends her life." He turned to leave.

"Wait!" she commanded. He paused. "If you know so much about my niece . . . ."

He smirked. "She's rather small for her age, pale, yellow eyes, reddish-brown hair, carries a thin sword, is always careful about her speech, and she has a scar on her forehead, over her left eyebrow. She is a pretty child, isn't she? Looks a lot like her mother."

This time, he really did leave. Nabooru stared after him, too dumbstruck to say another word. At the doorway, he said quietly, "Farewell, Nabooru. And remember what I said. This goes farther than a Shadow Crystal and a missing child. You don't want to mess with the Gods. This is their plan."

Then he vanished in a puff of black smoke.

* * *

The rain stopped just before dawn. Luna lifted her sleepy head from her arms and checked the fire. It was down to glowing embers. She groaned. The wood supply had run out hours ago.

Grimacing at the stiffness in her bones, she turned her head a little more to confirm that Maria was still among the living. It had been a hard night for Luna, desperately trying to stay awake and keep the fire going. At last, exhausted, she'd slipped into unwilling sleep with her head on Maria's stomach. Now she worried that Maria had passed on while she slept.

Much to her astonishment, Maria was still breathing. Furthermore, her heartbeat was strong and sure. Luna shook her carefully. "Maria?" she asked tentatively. The wolf twitched. "Maria! Maria! Wake up! It's nearly morning!"

Those yellow eyes opened drowsily; her mouth stretched in a doggy yawn. _"Luna?" _she asked groggily. _"What's wrong?"_

"Thank you, Mother Din," Luna whispered. She pulled at Maria's tail. "Come on! Get up! Gods, girl, get moving! It's morning!"

Maria sat up. _"Oh. Gods, what happened to me?"_

"You were having some sort of seizure and passed out. I've been trying to get you to wake up for _ages._"

_"Well, I'm awake now." _She yawned again.

"Can you walk?" Luna asked, picking up her still-damp cloak.

_"I think so." _Maria stood up unsteadily. _"It still hurts." _Attempting to take a step forward, she stumbled and plowed chest-first into the grass. _"Ouch."_

"Having trouble walking?" asked Luna sarcastically. Initial worry for the girl's well-being now hidden, she gradually began to revert to her original, cynical self. "Must be hard with four feet."

Maria bared her teeth. _"If you're going to mock me . . . ."_

"Oh, I am, don't worry. Look at it this way, no one's going to think you're a real wolf. Maybe a very confused, furry child . . . ."

_"Shut up!" _snarled the wolf-girl. Setting all four feet on the ground, she moved her legs in a sort of rhythm, firmly pressing into the dirt with her clawed paws. _"See? I can do this!" _She ran around the glade, feeling elated with her success.  
_  
_Luna smirked. "Good," she said with approval. "Now, can we get going?"

Maria nodded and turned toward the tunnel. _"I'm still in a lot of pain," _she said. _"But it's going away now. Let's go."_

She started forward.

A large weight dropped onto her back. She yelped and spun around, trying to dislodge whatever it was. "Calm down!" snapped Luna. "It's just me!"

_"__**Why **__are you on top of me?!"_

"You're carrying me," Luna informed her, patting her on the back. "I'm not too heavy, and I refuse to walk while you run. Okay?"

_"This is slave labor!" _grumbled Maria. Her back was already throbbing.

"You're my slave, deal with it. Onward!"

Stifling a groan, Maria began to walk.

The journey wasn't as hard as they originally thought. Maria adjusted to the weight fast, Luna didn't move or drag her feet to slow their progress, and the pain had dulled somewhat, leaving a strange sort of euphoria. Running was so _easy _in this form. With the scent of pine in her nose and the soft grass beneath her feet, she felt like she could run for _days._

A couple hundred feet from the tunnel, Maria spotted an old house. "Maybe someone still lives there," commented Luna. "Go in and check."

Maria shook her head. _"It's too early. The sun hasn't even risen." _Then she stopped. The surrounding area had grown lighter within the last few minutes. Excitement exploded into being in the pit of her stomach. Spurred on by her own anticipation, she ran towards a previously-unnoticed gate. The sign beside the gate said "Hyrule Field."

And as the first rays of sunlight appeared over the horizon, Maria skidded to a halt at the top of the hill leading down into the field. Luna gasped. Sunlight shone on everything. Each blade of grass appeared edged with gold fire. Raindrops clinging to rustling leaves reflected a thousand different hues into the early-morning mist. A fresh breeze smelling of pine and grass whipped into their noses, and Maria inhaled deeply, relishing the invigorating scent. Suddenly, she lifted her head and howled at the top of her lungs, transmitting all her joy, wonder, and relief to all those who heard. The terrifying night was finally over, and dawn had come.

Luna listened with amusement. "Someone's happy," she remarked.

_"Morningtide," _Maria responded. Her tone was dreamy, soft, almost awed.

Luna frowned. "Morningtide?" She remembered her mother saying that once, when a bolt of Light magic appeared in the sky from the depths of the Twilight Realm. It struck the Mirror of Twilight and reflected a thousand different colors, much like the rainbows from the water droplets. She remembered her mother's face, fiercely joyful, turned toward the Light. "The Light has come," she said. "There is hope for our world yet." And then she'd murmured, in that same tone of awe and delight, "Morningtide."

_"It's more commonly used when you're on a boat," _explained Maria. _"When all seems lost, when the darkness is too deep, the sun hits the water first thing in the morning, and it's so beautiful, that everything seems better again. It's a bit like a prayer for sailors who want the Gods to help them. They can always look to the dawn and feel less hopeless."_

Happiness swelled inside of her. She felt like she might burst with the joy. "Let's go, Maria," she said.

Maria shook her head. _"No. Get off. Now."_

Luna frowned. "What?"

The first fingers of light had begun to creep up the hill, and now they brushed against Maria's pelt. A shiver ran down her length. As the sun shone on her, it seemed to collect around her body. _"Luna! Get off! Quickly!"_

Luna slid off. "What's wrong, Maria?" she asked, suddenly frightened. What if the mysterious seizures had come again?  
But Maria only smiled. Her gold eyes sparkled with the sun's light. _"Nothing's wrong," _she said simply. _"Actually, it's all right for once."  
_And before Luna's eyes, the beautiful light wrapped around the dark wolf. It shone so bright, Luna had to cover her eyes with her hands. But when it cleared, Maria stood before her, human once more.

It was true, her clothes were dirty, her hair matted, and dark circled ringed her eyes. But she was smiling more broadly than she had since her father's death. "Let's go," she said simply, and started down the hill, warmed by the Light and the promise morning bestowed upon the living.

**

* * *

Oh God. I FINISHED THIS CHAPTER. EVERYBODY DANCE!!!!! :D**

Yeah. Um….shut up. I get it.

**Review!**


	5. More than Meets the Eye

**Chapter 5: More than Meets the Eye**

**I promised. :D****

* * *

**

"This was not part of The Plan."

The three women sat around the table again, gazing into the depths of the crystal ball. They saw the girl rush across the field, the Twilit Being hiding in her shadow. "And yet, things are looking up, it seems," one said with approval. Her hair was as green as the verdant grass upon Hyrule's fields. Her emerald eyes sparkled with golden light as the girl sprang lithely up onto the low branch of a tree and hauled herself up. She appeared to be scouting the area.

"Indeed," replied the second woman. She pushed her fiery locks out of her face with one tanned hand. "But she has adapted well. She is truly one of my Children." Her pride turned to concern. "But she will need help."

"Should we send the sorcerer to aid her?" asked the green woman.

"Nay," responded the third woman, the woman whose blue silk scarf obscured the lower part of her face. "Not yet. The Twili is good enough for the time being. It will help ease the debt owed."

The woman of fire nodded. "Will the Sages intervene?" she asked.

The green woman shook her head. "Don't be silly, Din!" she chided. "They wouldn't dare. This is our Plan."

Din stared into the ball gloomily. "I cannot help but worry," she said. "She is my Daughter. Her tribe . . . my tribe, they all grieve for her. I cannot let my Children feel this way for very long without feeling some compulsion to do something to ease their pain, Farore. Their sorrow is my sorrow."

"As the unhappiness of the Zora is the same as mine," said the third woman, fingering the gold beads on the edge of her scarf. "I ache for them just as much as you do for the Gerudo and the Gorons."

Din stood up. "By your leave, Nayru," she said formally, "I wish to retire to my chambers. I must contact the sorcerer, to let him know of our desires for the continuation of his role."

Nayru nodded. "As my sister wishes," she said.

Din turned and left the room. Farore covered the crystal ball with a heavy cloth, and left also. Nayru stayed for a time, gazing out the window, wondering what would happen if their Plan shouldn't succeed.

~*~

"Maria, it's almost night."

". . . So?"

"What if the same thing happens tonight? You need to be prepared."

Maria watched as the last of the light began to fade from the grass. A chilly wind blew up from the south, making her shiver. "We made good time today, I must admit," she commented, leaning back against the reassuring firmness of the old oak she perched in. It was the third tree she'd decided to climb today, just to see the lay of the land and find where to go for supplies. She had no pack, only a handful of Rupees, an old cloak she'd had on since leaving her own world, some emergency weapons, and her sword.

Now she fiddled with the hilt of one dagger, thinking to herself. _What will I do if it does happen again?_ she wondered. _Can I make it to that city there? Castle Town? Is there someone to help me?_

"Maria, if it's dark enough for me, you'd best get going."

With a sigh Maria sheathed her dagger and began to descend. The view was truly beautiful from up here, especially with the rain drying on the field, sending curtains of steam billowing across the grass. Horses, bearing their obviously noble owners, had trotted by half an hour ago, ringed by soldiers. They did not see the little girl sitting calmly up in a tree, or if they did, they did not pay any attention. They were headed to that white city in the distance, and the tall castle that rose above all. Maria had the strong suspicion that was Hyrule Castle. Only Hylians could be so showy. The entire castle was made of white marble that threw back the glare of the sunlight better than anything Maria had ever seen, even the castle walls at home. The narrow towers with their finely-pointed blue tops glittered like jewels in the light. The castle was definitely the prize of the Hylian people.

On the ground, with the grass gently swaying around her legs, Maria wondered again about the Gerudo. She had seen none pass by, and briefly wondered if they were the same here. Would they accept a child of their own desert? Were their customs similar? Would she be treated as friend or foe? And what would happen if she were considered a foe? Would she be killed, imprisoned? Even Maria highly doubted her ability to fend of hundreds of highly-skilled warriors. What if they had better magicians than she?

"Maria, it's happening again."

Maria nodded, already feeling the vague pressure in her abdomen and joints. Black and red fire sparkled around her body as it twisted and reformed. She pressed her hand, now with claws and pads, to her cheek, only to find it long and furry. _The change comes fast now_, she mused. _Perhaps I'm just a wolf at heart._

Then it was all over. She struggled upward again, heart beating heavily in her narrow, deep chest. _"It's over, I think," _she said.

Luna sighed. "Well, at least you're alive," she said. "Did it hurt?"

_"Not so much."_ She lifted a paw experimentally. _"Feels a bit strange, and there's a vague twinge, but that's about it."_

"Good." She sat down on Maria's back. "Let's go."

Maria shook her great head, causing Luna to nearly fall off. _"No," _she said. _"I feel tired now. Let me rest."_

Luna groaned. "All right, sleep," she said. "I'll wake you in a few hours."

Maria nodded. She pawed her way under some vines twisted about the base of the tree, creating a small hollow big enough for one tired wolf. Almost immediately, she fell into a deep sleep.

~*~

"Nabooru . . . ."

Nabooru sat in the window of her brother's study, gazing out at the gray sky. She looked up from the depths of her wine glass. It was Hakkai, alone for once. ". . . What?" she asked.

Hakkai was silent a moment. She appeared to be wrestling with her words, trying to find out what to say. "Do you want us to send another party out looking?" she blurted.

The tired Gerudo leader shook her head. "He said no. And it's been over a week."

"You're taking the advice of . . . ."

"He described Maria, Hakkai. He knows where she is. But he says the Gods have a plan for her. I daren't ruin the plans of the Gods for my own selfish desire to disregard his warning." Her head dropped. "Maria cannot afford failure on our part if she must be tested."

"But Nabooru . . . ." protested Hakkai softly. "Meaning no disrespect, ma'am, but, really . . . ."

"I said no, Hakkai," the leader said sharply. Hakkai winced. "We will not go after Maria again. If the Gods have a plan, then so be it." Nabooru sighed and lowered her head once more. She sounded so tired and defeated. "And if Maria must die . . . then so be it."

Hakkai suddenly felt angry. Tears welled up in her eyes as she stomped across the room, toward her superior. She didn't care about her rank, about punishment, or even the Gods. She was scared for her friend, her friend that could die without them. "What would Ganondorf say if he saw you like this?!" she demanded. "He would be disgusted with you. You sit here, drinking and moping, not letting us do anything, trying to put stock in that horrible sorcerer . . . how do you know he speaks the truth?!"

Nabooru stood up and hurled the glass in the younger woman's direction. It shattered against the wall, leaving a long stain down the wood. "How dare you speak to me in this way!" she cried. "Never speak to me in this manner again, or I'll have you punished for insubordination. I could have you banished to the desert!"

"At least it got you to respond," retorted Hakkai. "And what about the sorcerer? Why do you believe him?"

"How is he alive any other way?!" demanded Nabooru. "He was dead once! They must have revived him!"

"Him?! Why him?!"

"He was a good friend to my brother," she said stiffly. "Until they drifted apart. The world needs two extremely good Elemental sorcerers in one area like it needs a ReDead infestation."

Hakkai laughed hollowly. "So there's no discussing this anymore?" she asked. "No point?"

"None." Nabooru poured herself a new glass of wine. "As far as I'm concerned, Maria Dragmire is dead to us, forever. And that's the way it will stay she either returns. And if she doesn't, well, then, I suppose we can safely assume she's joined my brother in the afterlife."

~*~

"Sorcerer . . . ."

He paused in the act of picking up a crystal orb filled with golden light. "Yes, my Mistress?" he asked. The Goddess could detect a faint note of sarcasm.

"Do not mock me, Sorcerer. How is the girl?"

He smirked. "As well as can be expected, Madam," he replied. "She sleeps now. But there is a storm coming."

She frowned. "Go to her," she said eventually. "When the rains come, help her. She will not survive in her weakened state. She is not strong enough to deal with the night outside of Ordon's protection."

"Is Faron that weak?"

Din hesitated. "Yes," she said eventually. "He is very weak. He may let the Twilight enter. Then, it will be dark in Faron Province. She must leave it before that happens, or she may never get out. It will destroy her."

He nodded swiftly and prepared to depart. "Oh, and sorcerer?" He turned back to Din. She hesitated again. "Do not tell her anything. Not even your name. Do you understand?"

He nodded. "I understand, Goddess," he said softly. Then he vanished again in a spray of sparks. Din was left alone in the high-ceilinged room, hoping beyond hope that her Chosen Child would survive the night without divine intervention.

~*~

Maria closed her eyes against the cold rush of wind. _"Damn," _she thought. _"It's so cold."_ Ignoring her discomfort, she curled up tightly in a ball under a thick canopy of vines and leaves. Luna grumbled about the cold, but Maria ignored her.

"This wind will drive me crazy," she said grumpily. Maria only yawned. Luna glared at the sky. Rain had begun to fall now, soaking Maria's fur and chilling her to the bone. Luna threw her hood on and tried to ignore it the way Maria did, but to no avail. The wind intensified, freezing the pair of cold, wet travelers.

Suddenly, something began to glow, right in front of Maria's face. Her eyes flew open. A thin line of light extended perhaps ten feet, through the thicket of vines, toward a larger, much brighter light.

She walked forward, eyes flicking side to side. The light path ended just ahead, where a fire burned. As soon as her paws touched the place where the path ended, all fell silent. No longer could she hear the screaming wind, or feel it ruffle her fur. She peered to the left, confused. She seemed to have walked straight into some sort of enclosure, ringed by pale, ghostly white fire. Out there, rain still poured down relentlessly, but not in here. Instead, it fell onto the top of this high enclosure and streamed down the sides. It was warm here, and dry, something she appreciated greatly, but the currents of magic around her made her deeply uneasy.

She turned her attention to the fire. Sitting there, beside it, gazing into the flames, was an unidentifiable human figure. Though her sharp eyes could pick out more details than her human ones, the figure's cloak covered it all too well. She growled softly at it.

"Calm yourself, Wolf Child," said a light male voice. "I mean you no harm."

She came a little closer, still facing the man. _"How did he know?"_ she asked Luna.

"Because She told me so, my dear," he said.

"_You can hear me?!"_

"Yes. They told me how." She could tell he was smiling. "Or rather, She told me I would need to know how to hear Inner Voices. I already knew how."

"_You were sent by the Gods?"_ Maria asked. _"Why?"_

"No, my dear. I came of my own accord. It was Fate that brought us together tonight, not the Gods. Fate, in Her own wisdom, brought me out here tonight, and I knew, I felt a Cursed One close by. That Cursed one was you."

"_You can feel those who are cursed?"_

"Indeed." He leaned back and glanced at the sky. "I sent my powers to find you, to lead you to warmth and light again. Though I cannot do anything to ease your curse, I _can_ tell you that your curse is also a blessing."

"_How would you know?"_

"Not many people can take the shape of a divine beast. You are indeed blessed this night, for you have a fire to share with me, a guardian from another world, and a place away from the cold. It is warm here, is that not enough?"

She hesitated. _"Who are you?"_ she asked. _"How did you control the wind and the rain this way?"_

"I am special, you may say," he said, laughing. "I am an Elemental Sorcerer."

Maria curled up close to the fire, staring into its depths. _"I see,"_ she said. _"Thank you, Master . . . .?"_

"Names are not necessary, little one," he replied. "What you have said is fine. Now sleep, my dear. Your journey is only beginning. You will need all your strength before long, I think, to survive this dark world."

Her eyes fluttered shut. _"Thank you,"_ she said again. Then, she simply as that, she fell asleep. Luna took a moment to glance over the sorcerer before she lay beside the wolf child and closed her eyes.

When they were both fast asleep, the sorcerer looked to the sky. "There you go, Din," he murmured. "She sleeps. She will be safe the night. My wards will protect her. No one will harm her here."

And, with a last glance at the cursed child and her partner, he vanished into the night.

~*~

Hours later, Maria awoke to the sound of snarling. She leaped up, muscles screaming in protest, head aching and slightly fuzzy with sleepiness. Luna sat up drowsily, rubbing her eyes. "What's going on?" she slurred.

"_Outside,"_ Maria growled. Every muscle in her body was tense, her eyes flashed gold, reflecting the light of the fire. "_They're . . . skeletons_."

Skeletons indeed, skeletons of dogs, wolves, with bits of matted fur still clinging to their bones. Their red eyes glittered in the darkness. They seemed to be glowing dimly with black fire, each bone outlined in light. Their sharp, decaying teeth looked deadly. They paced outside the ring of white fire, growling, howling, barking. But they did not pass through the barrier.

"What are they?" whispered Luna.

"_I don't know."_ Maria stared at them, barely moving a muscle. _"But they're trying to break in."_

Two of the skeleton hounds leaped at the barrier and fell back, their bones crumbling, disintegrating, the black fire fading away. Every time they came forward, they burned up. _"Wards,"_ commented Maria softly. _"They cannot enter without harming themselves. If they actually managed to enter, they would die_._"_

Now a familiar creature came into their view, a Bokoboblin, wielding a wooden sword. He hacked at the barrier, only to set his sword afire. It quickly went out from the force of the rain. Then he threw a rock at the barrier. It bounced back, hitting him in the forehead, knocking him out.

"They can't enter," said Luna wonderingly. "Thank Fate for the sorcerer . . . ." she looked across the enclosure, only to find him gone. She frowned. "Where . . . .?"

"_No matter. Go back to sleep."_ Maria lay back down, closing her eyes and shutting out the sound of the wild howls of rage. Soon, they desisted, the hounds ran off. Luna remained awake for a time, staring into the fire, which had not gone out the entire night, though there had been no added fuel. She wondered to herself about the sorcerer, and why he had helped them.

"Maria, wake up."

The wolf stirred. _"What?"_

"The fire . . . ."

Maria squinted at it. _"Hasn't gone out,"_ she commented. _"Thank the Gods, I'm freezing . . . ."_

"No, the color."

"_Eh?"_

Luna hesitated, hardly daring to believe herself. "Does it look . . . purple, to you?"

"_So? Magic incarnate. Let it be. Mine's purple too."_

"This is edged with . . . gold."

Maria lifted her head from her paws. _"Gold?"_ she asked. _"That's Godly magic. This sorcerer has been guided by the Gods. He's no common traveler. He's a Guardian, or a Messenger, or something."_

Luna frowned. "But why?"

"_Well, you were guided by the gods to me. Perhaps . . . perhaps he was sent to guide both of us. You're not exactly an expert on Hyrule . . . ."_

"Then why did he leave?"

"_His time was up, perhaps. Now sleep, Luna. I need it. There's no point in trying to solve this mystery when we're dead on our feet."_

She fell off into sleep again, but Luna couldn't. Her mind kept spinning, trying to find out why the sorcerer had been there, and why he left. "Thank you, whoever you are," she whispered. "I only wish I knew why you helped us."

~*~

"Sorcerer."

He sighed. "What now, Din? I did as you asked. The girl will survive the night, and then she will move on. She'll be in Castle Town by the morn."  
She hesitated. "You have done well," she said finally. "Thank you."

He moved a bit closer. "Are you all right, Din?" he asked. "You seem so uncertain. I have never seen you act this way."

"I am worried for her," she said. "My Child. I fear she will not fulfill her end of it. I fear the Twili will not repay the debt her people owe. This needs to happen, I know it does, but the girl is so . . . she does not understand the Gods. She is not really even a Gerudo; her heart is of the Desert Tribe, but her mind is not attuned to Spirit, as the rest of her family is. If it was needed, could she speak to the dead, sing the sacred songs to Call and Banish, Bless and Curse, Commune and Cast Away? Will she know what to do when faced with something she cannot fight, cannot control? Will she prove her courage, or run? Will she live? Die? Or worse?"

He gazed at her in disbelief. "You're a _goddess_!" he cried. "Surely you know what will happen! You control this world, after all! You could help her! This is your Plan! There's no reason for you to worry!"

"But there is, sorcerer," replied Din. He could see how agitated she was now. Her amber eyes darted this way and that, and her hands constantly moved, pushing aside her hair, fiddling with her clothes, touching her face. Her cloak whipped around her slender frame as she paced the length of the stone chamber. "This may be our Plan, but we cannot interfere either. This goes beyond us. One wrong move could irreparably damage Hyrule, and every other universe. Too much dark magic, and the very heavens could be lost. She is a pawn in a dangerous game of chess, and the price for losing is our own destruction."

~*~

In the morning, Maria awoke to find the fire burnt out, the gray sky streaked with pink, and the grass only mildly damp. She also found that her hands were human again. She touched her face. "I'm back," she muttered. "Thank Lady Din."

Oblivious to the accuracy of that statement, she shook Luna's shoulder gently. "Luna, wake up!" she whispered.

Luna opened her red eyes. "Hmm? Morning already?" she asked. "Really." She studied Maria, and a smile spread across her face. "Human!" she said happily. "Good." Maria started to stand, and Luna's smile faded when the girl looked away. Her hair had dulled slightly, making it look unhealthy. She had lost weight, too, not that she could afford to do so, and there was something wrong with her skin . . . .

Luna pushed the thoughts away, stood, and sank into Maria's shadow. There would be time to think of this later, when there was reason to worry.

Days passed. The night brought pain to Maria and intense worry to Luna, for every morning, Maria looked a little worse. In her wolf form she was strong and capable of running long-distance; she was powerful, filled with stamina. But towards sunrise her tail drooped, her paws thudded heavily on the ground. She barely made it into shelter to transform back into a human unnoticed, and slept for hours afterward. And all the while, her hair grew duller and fainter, her eyes clouded, her skin paled. Luna could see the toll all this transformation had on the girl.

A week after their encounter with the sorcerer, Castle Town was visible from little hollow where they'd spent the early morning. Maria opened her eyes early for once, still a wolf and dead on her feet. Nevertheless, she looked pleased. _"Almost there," _she said. _"As long as I stay awake after the transformation, I can be there in less than a day."_

"That's wonderful," said Luna absently, playing with the edge of her cloak. "How about a bath before you go anywhere? Your fur stinks."

Maria bared her teeth. _"It's been over a week since I bathed last, except for that little puddle," _she growled. _"There's a river not a hundred feet away. I'll go for it. Gods know I could use it."_

She staggered upward and trotted out of the hollow, grimacing at the pain in her feet and legs. Luna took a nap. Maria briefly thought of waiting to bathe, but the sight of that cold, clear water thrilled her. The water, so clear it did not even appear to exist, flowed lightly and quietly. The sunlight did not yet touch it, but the whole river still seemed to glow in whatever light existed. Sides heaving with excitement, Maria bounded in.

The water washed over her back, making her whine. Drawn to the coolness like a starving man to food, she ducked her long head beneath the surface, holding her breath within her deep chest. She felt the dirt lift from her fur when she twisted her long body around. Lifting her head, she breathed deep the crisp, clean air. She was happy here, in this glittering, almost crystalline river, the moon setting behind her, the sun rising in the distance. At home in the rivers of Lady Nayru, nothing could harm her.

The transformation came then, knocking the wind from her lungs in one terrifying thrust. Weighed down by her sodden clothes, she choked on the water. Her hair swirled about her face, blinding her. Waving her arms wildly, Maria tried to keep herself afloat. _Why didn't I wait? _she thought wildly. _Why?! Why?!_

Her head sank beneath the surface, and unconsciousness hit before she had a chance, mostly due to terror and the strain of her transformation. Her body began to drift downward . . . .

_OH GODS ITS BURNING BURNING BURNING I'M ON FIRE SOMEONE HELP HELP HELP PLEASE MY LUNGS I CAN'T BREATHE I CAN'T BREATHE . . .!_

Luna surged upward, suddenly awake, filling her lungs with air that brought sharp pain on the way down. "MARIA!" she shrieked. The girl was gone. She'd gone to bathe in the river. And the sun . . . .

She dashed down the hill at a dead run, just in time to see the girl's head duck beneath the surface. "MARIA! MARIA!" _If she dies oh no if she dies I won't repay the debt I'll be a failure oh Din oh someone help me help me! _Luna ignored her better judgment. Without even removing her cloak, she dove into the river. Maria was down there, face ghostly and pale in the half-light. The Twili kicked her legs furiously. Soon she had the girl's collar in one hand. Pulling as hard as she could, Luna lifted the girl's head up to the surface. They broke through together, Luna gasping for air harder than she ever had in her life, Maria completely unresponsive. The Twili priestess pulled the Gerudo warrior up to the embankment. Luna turned her onto her back, noting with horror that her face had turned almost completely white. "Oh, please wake up," she whispered. Her hands shook. Clumsily she patted Maria's face. It was ice cold. "Oh Gods, please, don't . . . I have to repay my debts, please, please . . . ."

A silvery ball rose from her chest, right where her heart would be. Luna watched helplessly as it rose into the air at her eye level, shimmering with purple. She knew what it was. "Oh, no, please . . . please . . . ." Raising her face to the sky, she screamed, "Why, Din?! Why have you done this?! Why must I fail?! Why have you abandoned us, O Mighty Goddesses?! Why will you not help us?!"

There was, amazingly, a response, in the form of a familiar chuckle. Luna twisted her head this way and that, red eyes shifting about in a frenzy. "Oh, Luna," said a chiding voice. "You know the gods abandoned you long ago."

The silvery ball flew into the air and hovered at a precise spot less than three feet away. Before Luna's shocked, petrified eyes, a figure gradually materialized beside it, a tall, darkened figure wearing heavy robes. Luna stood up and backed away. She drew a Twili-style knife from her cloak, not taking her eyes off the newcomer. _No, no, you're dead . . . you're dead . . . ._

She tried to speak bravely, but all she could achieve was a breathless jumble . . . .

"Zant . . . ."

* * *

**Cliffie. Hah! :)  
****Read and review, suckers.**


	6. Deals with a Devil

**Chapter 6: Deals with a Devil**

The man in the metal mask laughed as he gazed down upon his victims. To Luna, the screeching warble sounded like a siren, announcing her inevitable demise.

Beneath her, the cold, unfeeling body of Maria Dragmire lay, sprawled out on the blackened ground, wet tangles of hair hiding her face from view. Luna did not want to see Maria's face. In her life as High Priestess, she had participated in many funerals, and the ending of a life always seemed tragic, especially in a place where life was so fragile and scarce.

The tall Twili stepped toward them, his odd boots padding softly on the grayish, dead grass. Despite the lizard-like helmet he wore, Luna could sense his identity. It was undeniably Luna's friend, her sister's former suitor. No one else exuded such a sensation of insanity and danger.

"Zant," said Luna as calmly as possible, praying her nervousness didn't show in her voice, "how are you alive?"

Zant chuckled and ignored her question. A light purple mist issued from the small silver ball hovering before him. Luna knew what it was. It was Maria's life force, taken from Maria's body by a magic of the darkest variety. Zant spoke a word that raised shivers on Luna's spine. The silver mist formed into the rough shape of a small, slender girl. It was Maria, transparent and ghostly in the sullen gray dawn light. A purple fire burned in the pits of her eyes and in the center of her chest, pulsing like a bizarre heart. She examined her hands with a dull air of defeat, an expression that frightened Luna more than anything else.

Maria looked up at Zant, and her eyes widened. Fear radiated off her aura in waves. _Who are you? _she whispered.

"I am the one that holds your soul in chains," he responded. "Without me, you die."

"What do you want, Zant?!" demanded Luna.

He turned his head slowly until the bulbous eyes of his metal, lizard-like mask faced the Twili priestess. "I want to discuss the terms of your life, Luna."

"What do you mean?"

Zant uttered a shrill giggle. The sound was like knives scraping against one another. It touched a nerve, as it always had; it was simply too annoying to bear for long. She supposed it was one of the reasons Princess Midna had refused Zant as a suitor; no one wanted a husband whose laughter sounded like a madman's.

"Our people stole my future from me," he said. As he spoke, a thin ribbon of black-and-red energy issued from within his sleeve. It thickened and rose, gradually snaking around the three in an irregular circle, cutting off Luna's view of the river, the bridge, and the sky. Now wherever she looked, she saw only an eternity of blackness and small, wavering red runes. The dawn light receded, leeching all warmth from the enclosure. Luna cursed bitterly. Maria was her vulnerability, and now this smug _monster _was using that to his advantage. Luna could not even try to escape, for if she did, Maria's soul would stay in Zant's possession forever. Luna couldn't afford to fail in her task.

"What do you want, Zant?" she asked again. "And how are you alive?"

"My God sustains me." There was a curious smugness in his words that did not entirely mask the jagged note of anger brewing beneath. "He saved me from death. With His help, I will take back the position _your sister denied me_!" Zant screamed these last words, and as he did so, red mist exploded out of his sleeves. Luna shrieked and covered her eyes, certain that the mist would smother her or burn her flesh from her bones. But the red mist passed through her harmlessly, sweeping away from the Twili it originated from and dissipating against the barriers penning them in. Luna looked up. Zant stood still and silent, Maria's flickering life force standing before him.

Luna, trembling from head to toe, stepped forward. She was angry now. Zant had kidnapped them, stolen her charge's life force, and had now scared her witless with parlor tricks. Her patience could only stretch so far, even in this time of danger. She met Zant's eye as best she could. "My sister never promised you the kingship," she stated coldly. "You were not worthy."

Zant raised one arm. "Silence!" he bellowed. Luna watched, horrified, as Maria fell to her knees, her aura flickering. She screamed, a hollow sound that echoed through the darkness and pierced Luna's heart. Her inert physical body twitched and thrashed in some kind of seizure.

Luna shuddered. Tears bloomed in her eyes, threatening to splash down the front of her dress tunic. All of her fury washed away in a single, crippling stroke. "I'm sorry!" she wailed. "I'm sorry! I'll be quiet! Stop torturing the girl, can't you see she's dying?!"

Zant lowered his arm, and the redness of Maria's aura faded. Her body relaxed. Gasping, the specter stood up. Luna was horrified to see how dim her life force was now. Zant was stripping Maria of all the energy she had left.

"What do you _want_?!" Luna demanded a third time.

_Please, _whispered Maria. Her voice trembled at first, then firmed. _Tell me what you want from her._

"Little mage, I want nothing from Luna. It is _your _services that I require."

There was a pause. Maria glanced over her shoulder at Luna, her eyes unreadable. Then she turned back to Zant. _What is your price? _She asked.

Zant chuckled again. That was what Luna hated most about Zant: no one could chart his moods. In a matter of seconds he could shift from raging hatred to meek subservience. It was too difficult to anticipate what his next action would be.

"See, my dear," said Zant, waving an arm, "my God requires a host body. He sees through me. He knows _everything _that I know. Each day his strength grows; his strength is _my _strength. He feeds off the hatred, the fear, the _pain _of my people." Now his voice rose with excitement. "He feeds off our pain and grows strong."

_What does that have to do with me?_

"I've been watching you, you see," Zant explained patiently. He spoke with certain arrogance, as if to a very small, dim-witted child. "You have an incredible amount of strength, yet you are untrained in the magical arts. You have the ability to move mountains, and you struggle with a simple jump spell!"

Maria scowled, nettled by his comment. _And?_

"My God has seen the energy you possess. I come to you as his messenger. Surrender your power to us, and when the Twilight sweeps across this land, blotting out the hated Light, we will grant you immortality."

_And what if I don't agree? _asked Maria quietly.

"Then you will fail in your Gods-driven quest."

There was another silence. Maria blinked. Something about his words resonated with her. _How did you know about my quest? _she murmured slowly. Could Zant be a part of the mystery surrounding her?

"Because I see all and know all," responded Zant. "My God has given me that."

_My energy . . . for my freedom?_

"Your energy for your life," said the Twili. "If I take your soul now, I only get what you have. If I let you live . . . ." he chuckled again. "I can feed off of you, and your body will replenish itself. Think of yourself as . . . an unlimited energy generator, if you will."

"Don't do it," said Luna at once. Zant turned his head in her direction. "Don't do it, Maria. Don't. He'll kill you."

Maria's eyes drifted across Zant's mask. _Is there any other choice?_

She sensed his smug smirk. Loathing shivered through her like an infection. "Well, death _is _an option . . . ."

All the fight slid out of her, leaving her with slumped shoulders and a hanging head. She seemed to wilt from the very center of herself. Defeated, she closed her eyes. _Very well. Zant, you may use my life force for . . . whatever it is you need._

"Thank you, my dear." He snapped his skeletal fingers. The purple apparition faded. Luna watched, fearful, as Maria's physical body began to shudder. Her eyes opened. She cried out once. The shudders eased into a light tremor. She sat up.

"Maria!" cried Luna. Relief flooded through her like a cooling stream. "Oh, thank the Gods, you're alive."

Maria didn't respond. She looked up at Zant. He met her gaze, impassive behind his helmet. "Are you done?" she croaked.

"Why yes, I am." A red orb materialized in front of him. It glowed and pulsed, giving off a crimson mist and small black particles. Twilight magic. "Look into this, if you please, and you can go back to where you belong."

"Don't look, Maria!" Luna screeched, on her feet immediately. She felt dizzy and disoriented, but she forced herself up. "Maria! It's a trap!"  
Too late. Maria was already captivated. She took a step toward Zant, stretched out one hand—

And vanished.

Luna screamed in terror and fury. She had no perception of Maria whatsoever. The feeling of emptiness in her chest made her feel as though her heart would halt forever. "Zant!" she bellowed, rounding on the usurper, "_What have you done?!_"

Zant shrieked with laughter. "Ah, Luna," he cried, "the joke's on you! The leader has lost all her followers! Where is your flock now, Priestess!"

Luna's hand curled into a fist. She thumped Zant on the arm, catching him by surprise. He spoke a word that made the air scream. Luna felt the earth fall away beneath her. She knew no more.

)-(

When she opened her eyes, she was alone.

The world was dark and close. She could not see. She could not feel. She lay, numb, barely aware of her own heart beating in her chest. Her arms lay beside her, but she could not even feel what surface they rested upon. _I'm home_, she thought. _Home, and safe._ She tried to flex her fingers. They did not move. I must have been drugged. _They drugged me to keep me still and calm, because . . . Because why?_

She tried again.

Her finger twitched.

In an instant the numbness was gone. Searing heat washed over her. Sweat bloomed on her face and almost instantly dried. Her lips cracked, her eyes burned. Her throat was suddenly raw and painful. This was worse than the most horrible fever, worse than the continual heat of the desert. It was like standing in Death Mountain, and she had no Goron's Tunic to protect her.

She crawled to her knees, coughing dryly, crying out at the sand-paper feeling in her throat. The cry was weak and rasping. She looked up. There was some sort of blue metal on the ceiling. It sparkled and glowed in the rocky, cavernous room. She couldn't look away from it. It fascinated her despite the heat.

Obviously, she was not safe at home with her people.

"What is that, Luna?" she murmured aloud. There was no response. Maria looked down. Wherever she was, the floor was metal. She stood on wobbly legs. There was only darkness around her. The only light source was the spark of electricity arcing across the blue metal on the ceiling. She saw no walls, no doors, no openings of any kind. Until her eyes adjusted, she would be blind.

She took a step forward, and felt nothing beneath her feet.

Training took over. She pulled backward, careful not to let her weight fall forward into the abyss. Shocked at the sudden feeling of weightlessness, she whipped her head down to see the ledge.

Her scream echoed through the cave, echoing painfully in her own ears, but she couldn't help it. She saw fire beneath her; roiling, turgid magma aglow in the darkness of the room. She stood on a metal platform suspended over the liquid fire by three frail chains, and there was no way out.

"Luna!" she screeched. "_Luna!"_

But the Twili did not come to her aid.

"LUNA!"

_Luna can't help me,_ she thought wildly. _I'm alone. _She whirled around. There was no escape. Now she could see the glow of the magma wherever she looked. The light stained the rock walls crimson and orange. There was a continuous sound from below, a sound of shifting molten rock, like the bubbling of some viscous potion in a cauldron. Misery overwhelmed her. _I'm going to die._

**Get a hold on yourself, girl!** another voice snarled in her head. **Remember what Zant said? You have power. Use it!**

Perhaps that voice was the voice of her dead father. She did not know. All she knew was that the voice was right. She closed her eyes and calmed herself. Immediately her lungs fell into the familiar pattern of meditation. _Someone put you here; therefore, there IS an escape._ She opened her eyes and scanned the little cave, trying not to let the rumble of the rocks frighten her into missing something important. In this case, even the smallest detail could save her life. But all she saw was charred, soot-encrusted rock. There! Set high up into the wall was a vent, about two feet wide and eighteen inches tall. Plenty of room if she crawled. She was small for her age. The grille meant to cover the entrance hung limply by one bolt. She eyed the charred metal. Perfect.

_Try the jump spell again, _she told herself. _You have to. Because you only get one jump. After that, it's all over. _She tried not to think about how much it would hurt to drown her body in that liquid fire.

She practiced by jumping straight up, letting the power flood through her limbs until it was familiar. The chains supporting her little sanctuary came together near the ceiling, threaded through a thick metal loop. It was sturdy enough to stand on, but swayed alarmingly whenever she shifted her weight. She had to get out of here.

The spell was difficult. It hurt. Her legs ached, her back ached, she began to feel lightheaded. But she couldn't quit. _When I touch the chain I'll try jumping for the vent_, she thought, _but only then._

Meanwhile, the magma beneath her was bubbling. Not in a way she expected. She never thought it would bubble like water in a pan. That simply did not seem logical. There was a foreign feeling, too, one of tightness and pressure pushing in on her eye sockets and temples. Her heart beat heavily in her chest. Something was growing beneath her, a kind of malign energy. She wiped the sweat from her brow and continued to practice. She could worry about building pressure after she was safe.

After what seemed like hours, her hand grasped the chain holding up the metal plate.

Thank the Goddesses! She collapsed to the ground, curled up in a ball, exhausted and weak. Her heart thudded in her chest. She recalled a Castle Town celebration she had observed a few years before. Among the festivities was a race to the river. She had watched the men, and some women, dash through the narrow streets, their faces pink and gleaming with sweat. Over the drawbridge they ran, across the field with its sweet-smelling grass and watery autumn sun, over the river that sparkled in every color of the rainbow, to the end of the bridge. Eventually a man, a cobbler by trade, had won the race by breaking the tape strung across the far end of the bridge. Maria remembered his face when he returned, weary but grinning, his fifty-Rupee prize clutched in his fist. Maria herself felt like that man: wrung out, breathless, and sore from her head to her toes. Instead of a Rupee, though, her prize was her life. She forced herself to her feet. "A lot of good you did me, Luna," she grumbled. She made a face. It was strange to talk to herself when Luna wasn't around.

There was a rumble. The platform swayed. The lava rose, then settled. Maria wobbled on the suddenly unstable surface. _Oh dear Din, it's going to explode. I'm going to die._ She steeled herself and glared up at the vent. It seemed to fly away from her, the distance between her platform and safety stretching to a distance of a thousand miles. She shuddered. The pressure increased; her temples were being squeezed.

_Stop it,_ she told herself. _Stop it! Jump._

Maria closed her eyes. This was her race. The energy flooded through her veins, banishing the soreness in her legs. The muscles tensed, saturated in magic. She opened her eyes, centered her gaze upon the vent, and leaped.

Time seemed to slow for Maria. She saw the vent come closer, closer, and then she was falling just short of it, watching the grate disappear before her eyes. She screamed, feeling terror sizzling in her nerve endings like a physical wound. Her hand shot out. She did not feel the sliver of metal slice her palm open. Her body slammed against the rock, driving the breath from her lungs. She looked up. Her bleeding hand was clutching the edge of the grate.

Gradually, excruciatingly, she reached for the grate with the other hand. The warped metal sagged but did not break. She hauled herself up, using the metal bars like a ladder.

Finally, exhausted, covered in dirt, Maria dragged her abused body into the vent opening. She lay in the carved stone passage, gasping. The pain had awoken in her bleeding hand. She hoped it wouldn't be infected. She had no Rupees for medical supplies. She crawled forward, adjusting her sword belt every so often to keep the hilt from digging into her side. She'd almost forgotten she even had a blade. She wiped sweat out of her eyes and began the long journey through the vent.

Eventually stone gave way to a square metal tube. _Where the hell am I? _she wondered. The further she crawled, the cooler it became in the pipe. This was an extreme relief, but the building pressure in her chest and behind her eyes was not. She felt as though someone were squeezing her skull in a vise. Maria coughed miserably, breathing in a combination of smoke and dust. The air was thick and stale. Finally she came upon a second grate, this one bolted securely. She took a little ball of magic deep from the core of herself and blasted the grate off. She poked her head through the opening. The duct opened onto a metal walkway. She climbed out, careful not to cut herself again.

The room was in fact another cave. The ceiling came to a narrow point at the top, probably a natural chimney. There was lava here, too. Maria walked across the causeway, keeping one hand on her sword. There was no one around except a few Keese. When one of those flying nuisances came too close, she dispatched it with a single swipe. _Where am I going? _she wondered to herself. _Do I even know?_

Clearly she didn't, but her feet believed otherwise. She walked further and further, almost against her will, down a narrow passage that stank of sulfur. The path led to another bubble in the earth. Here the metal plate pathway sloped down to a massive opening, like a natural archway in the wall. She took this path, past rusted metal scaffolding, across the thick steel drawbridge. She never broke stride, not even when the earth lurched beneath her feet, threatening to spill her off the drawbridge and into the magma. She did not pause, did not wipe the sweat from her face. Inside she felt a chill of deadly calm that masked even her nerves.

The path ended at a huge stone door. She stood before it, examining the runes carved into the metal lock. She put a hand on one of the thick golden chains. The chain sagged; the lock popped open and fell to the floor. Her eyes widened. The lock was nearly as big as she was. The door slid open, revealing a monster.

Maria didn't want to enter the room. She didn't want to be left alone with a beast of colossal size. But her legs pumped relentlessly. She tried to drag her feet, to dig her heels into the rough floor, but it was all in vain. The door closed, leaving her in the company of the creature. Maria wanted to draw her weapon, but her arms were pinned in place at her sides. She studied the creature. It was at least fifteen feet tall, its skin a mottled black. Its massive head was lowered; asleep or unconscious. Slow, heavy breaths rolled in and out of its gaping maw. Maria noted calmly that its teeth were larger and sharper than her sword.

She wanted to move. She wanted to run, screaming, toward the door, to beg the Gods for her freedom. Though the creature's arms and legs were chained with thick gold manacles, she didn't trust them. This _thing _emanated rage and wildness in a way Maria had never felt before. Some malign force held her motionless.

"What are you?" she asked, addressing the creature directly.

Its blazing eyes opened. Looking into them was like looking directly into the fires of Hell. It lifted its head and snarled. Spittle dripped from its fangs.

"Pretty, isn't he?"

Maria's head turned of its own accord. She hadn't seen Zant before, but she did now, leaning on the wall, perfectly at ease. He chuckled at her. "I call him Fyrus. He is my friend. My little servant."

"You said you'd send me home," Maria told him. Anger seeped into her tone.

"I did not, my dear," said Zant patiently, folding his arms. "I told you I was going to send you where you belonged. Perhaps this is where you belong."

"Why?" demanded Maria. Her hand clenched her sword hilt.

"So you can see my little surprise." He pointed at Fyrus. The monster roared. The sound was ear-splitting in the small space. Fyrus flailed. The binding chains flexed; the walls creaked. Maria yelped and covered her ears, but she couldn't block out the feeling of the world suddenly crushing her. "Fyrus is going to keep the troublesome Gorons in check for my Lord."

Maria bared her teeth in defiance. "Why?"

"_WHY?!_" roared Zant. Fyrus snarled and strained against his bonds. "The Gorons would not submit to my rule! So I used my _greatest power . . . _my _birthright . . . _to _make them submit_ . . . ."

Fyrus's skin burst into flames. Maria shrieked, covering her eyes. The pain, the pressure, the _noise _blocked out all thought. Faintly, she heard Zant's voice above the racket. "_This is but a taste of what I can do_!" he was bellowing. "Do you feel it? Can you feel the power of my inheritance? I am a _GOD among MORTALS_!"

Pain. Pain. So much pain. The world was being shaken apart. The air heated up; suddenly she was lifted off her feet, thrown up into the air by some extreme force. She was rising, rising, rising, trapped in a fiery bubble. She screamed, certain she would be dashed against the rock ceiling, but passed through it without harm. It took her a moment to realize that the bubble was her own doing: her magic was working of its own accord to protect its vessel. She rose, the world rushing by in a blinding haze of gold, orange, and brown.

Maria burst through the thousand layers of rocks after a mere fifteen seconds of flight. The sky was full of black ash clouds. She curled into a ball. The explosion bore her upward on a gale of hot sulfurous air, sending her thirty, forty, fifty feet into space. Beneath her she had one quick glimpse of the mountain she had come from. The peak had turned into a geyser, spewing molten rock into the sky. She saw Gorons fleeing from the crater and rolling to achieve maximum momentum. Though they could survive the intense melting heat, they could be crushed or suffocated when the lava hardened and sealed them into pockets beneath the landscape.

Maria gritted her teeth. The bubble shot forward, higher than ever. _This is going to hurt_. Automatically she withdrew into herself and began to wrap her physical body in layer upon layer of protective magic. She didn't want to think of what would happen when her wards were expended.

The lava travelled faster across the rocky landscape than Maria had expected, but she supposed it had something to do with Zant's . . . inheritance. Whatever dark, arcane magic the Twili used to construct Fyrus and instigate this eruption had to be powerful indeed. She could feel the energy in the lava's swift advance, the same thing she had felt in Fyrus. It was a vivid sensation that raised the hairs on the back of her neck, like lightning on the tongue. The molten rock was like some kind of wild being, a demon in disguise, with only one goal: slaughter. The pressure was immense. Maria's nose began to bleed as the power overwhelmed her senses. This was more than a mere natural occurrence. This was more than a few magicians trying to seal a volcano. This was Zant's true fury.

Somewhere off in the distance, Maria saw a town ahead, tiny in the distance. She urged the ball toward the town. She hoped to warn the citizens and evacuate them before they were consumed.

The bubble dropped out of the sky, gaining velocity as it fell. She could see the town clearly now, a cluster of shabby buildings built into the cliff faces. There were people standing in the streets with their arms around each other, frozen in place by their fear. They obviously saw her. Their eyes followed her progress toward the dusty ground. Still they did not move. _Oh dear Gods, please, please, stop this, they're going to be burned alive—_

Maria hit the ground with a resounding thud. The bubble burst into purple sparks. She was not prepared for the impact. In her shock, all her muscles relaxed. She rolled head-over-heels and thumped her head on the ground. She sat up, dazed. The earth rumbled beneath her. Faintly she heard a villager scream. She turned toward the mountain. The lava was not far behind. _Dear Gods! It's travelling so _fast . . .

Maria Dragmire ran for her life.

The town grew around her as she raced down the street, sending up puffs of dust with every step. She knew how she must look to them: crazed expression, hair standing on end, blood dripping from her hands, clothes scorched and frayed. She raced toward them anyway, shouting at them to flee, to escape. They remained where they were. When the lava surged into the town like an all-consuming wave, the villagers still had not moved.

Maria was halfway down the main street when she heard the first screams. Almost immediately she felt a cool vapor waft around her legs. Startled, she looked down. There was a glowing shell, like a second skin, encasing the lower half of her body. She bent her knee experimentally. The shell moved with her, a moldable suit of armor. Behind her she still felt the pressure and the heat. The lava sucked greedily at her magic, consuming and burning and melting.

Higher ground. She needed a tall place. The tall building at the edge of town caught her attention at once. It looked like an enormous piece of pottery carved by an unskilled hand. There was a scrubby tree poking out of the dirt next to the building, reaching like grasping fingers toward the charcoal sky. She hauled herself into the tree and pawed her way through the spindly branches. With one foot planted firmly in the fork of the tree, she braced herself against the thickest branch and shaded her eyes against the light. There was a break in the wall. She could see the roof from the tree. She gritted her teeth, filling her weak body with magic, and leaped. The ledge approached her again. _This is eerily similar to my trip toward the grate_, she thought. Somehow this struck her as funny. She caught the edge of the ledge and hauled herself up primarily one-handed; her left hand was slick with blood. Already she could smell her surroundings melting. From her perch on the roof she saw blackened bodies. The few living people were crouched on burning rooftops, weeping. Maria case a helpless eye around at the villagers. "What do I do?" she moaned. "Luna, help me!"

"Luna's not here." Maria whirled around. Zant stood behind her. "There is only I. And my little friend of course." Fyrus's flaming head peeked out from behind the mountain. His face seemed to leer at her. She sneered at him.

Zant cackled. She turned around and yelped; he was standing right behind her. Not an inch of space between them. She backed up, mindful of the ledge. "You bastard!" she shrieked. She was enraged far beyond anything she had ever felt before. The carnage around her, the smell of sulfur and burning . . . it was enough to drive her insane. She whipped a dagger out of her belt and raised it high in a single fluid movement.

"No," said Zant coolly. He thrust his hand out; suddenly the dagger became too hot to hold. She hissed and dropped it, rubbing her burned right hand with her bloody left one. The tang of hot metal hit her nose almost immediately. The blade had melted into a shimmering puddle by her boot.

Zant gripped the front of her shirt and hosted her aloft. Astonished, she struggled to break free. His grasp was as strong as steel. She kicked out viciously. Zant laughed. "Maybe you need to cool off, little mage," he said. He tossed her over the ledge with the ease of a man discarding a rag. There was nothing to grab onto, no spell to perform. Her mind was wonderfully, blissfully blank. She watched Zant's metal face recede with detached fascination. The world had become very thin and insubstantial.

She felt cold inside.

Even as the magic slowly leaked away, as her hair and clothes burst into flame, as her skin began to melt off her bones, Maria still felt incredibly cold. She tried to speak, but could not even open her mouth. Blind, she turned her eyes to the roof again. It seemed to her that in the seconds before unconsciousness, she could hear Zant laughing.

Maria was not afraid to die. However, Zant winning was something she found almost intolerable.

* * *

**Review!**


	7. Dreams of the Dead

**Chapter 7: Dreams of the Dead**

Kakariko Village was built by the mysterious Sheikah tribe when the Hylian dynasty was in its infancy. It had been a center of command, a place of living and training in absolute secrecy. The entirety of the little town was contained within a red-rock canyon in the shadow of Death Mountain. These buildings had once housed Sheikah soldiers. Now they served as shops, common houses, apartments, and even an inn. The ramshackle houses had not grown outward; they scaled the canyon in many different levels, like terraces. Boarders at the inn came to Kakariko for business and pleasure: in addition to the ancient history in the graveyard and the remnants of Sheikah culture, the hot springs were a popular attraction famous for their healing powers. However, the townspeople knew the most important part of their village was the ancient Sanctuary.

Luda and her father, Renado, lived in the Sanctuary. Long ago it had been a temple where the Sheikah performed ceremonies and healed the sick. Renado was the shaman, chief healer and spiritual leader. He offered advice to the townspeople and gave them natural remedies when they were ill. Though their supplies were limited, Renado had taken an oath to help Kakariko and its people whenever they needed him.

Luda had lived in the town her entire life. She loved all its inhabitants, even the bomb maker whose midafternoon hours spent tinkering in his workshop produced odd, earsplitting explosions. She loved the graveyard, where the dead whispered in the ground in a voice she could almost understand. She and her father kept both the living and the dead safe.

Every morning Luda awoke and helped her father prepare breakfast. After a quick prayer, they ate. The latter half of the morning was dedicated to tending the Sanctuary; sweeping the floors, swapping the incense, lighting the lamps. Luda did not mind the work. It was a daily routine, one she appreciated for its predictability. At noon she was released to play, even though playing was an immature thing for a girl of fourteen years. But she still played, sometimes pretending to be a princess in hiding, sometimes a renegade soldier, sometimes a powerful enchantress.

One hot day in midsummer, Luda decided to explore the graveyard again. She carefully tidied the area around the burial mounds and watered the tiny flowers that grew in the patches of grass. She enjoyed flowers, delicate blooms of pink, purple, and blue, a riot of color in a dusty and barren landscape.

Finished with her gardening, Luda wandered back into town. She wanted to meditate beside Eldin Spring before the afternoon prayer service. As the awkward, slumped shape of the Sanctuary came into view, she felt a powerful wave of affection for the place. Everything so well-loved and familiar. Her place. Her home.

Suddenly she stopped. A prickling feeling crept up her spine. Her mouth tightened. Something was not right. Her eyes wandered along the crates carefully stacked against the rock-and-clay walls. Some had been knocked over and lay in the dirt. The crates fell over often; Luda had no idea why the sight of them filled her with such dread. The little two-wheeled cart she and her father used to carry supplies was not neatly placed against the boxes, either. There appeared to be something sprawled out inside of it, a nondescript gray something that did not move.

Luda crept over to it, wary. If it was an animal, she had no weapons to defend herself, only rocks to throw. If she screamed, Father would come. He would protect her. She hesitated, standing before the cart, poised on the edge of flight. The figure appeared to be a human, huddled up in the fetal position with his or her face toward the wall, dressed all in gray, dirty clothes. Perhaps it was a vagabond seeking shelter in the heat of the day.

"Hello?" asked Luda. "Are you all right?"

The person did not move, but a low groan issued from him. Luda shook his shoulder. "Sir? Miss?"

The person gasped and sat up. Luda's eyes widened. All the color drained from her face. She yelped in shock and horror, barely able to comprehend what sat before her. She had no words for the sight she beheld.

The person was a girl, perhaps twelve or thirteen. Her skin was covered in horrific burns, her clothes turned entirely to ash. Her hair, gray from soot residue, had been almost entirely burned off. A sword glittered in a frayed belt around her waist. A melted dagger shimmered in a puddle beside her hand. Luda saw the white sheen over the girl's eyes. She was blind. All around her eyes were thick rings of charred, blackened flesh. "Miss?" whispered Luda. Her heart pounded in her chest.

The girl's eyes had been wandering in all directions as if trying to see who had addressed her. At the sound of Luda's voice, her eyes fixed, milky and hazy, on a spot just above Luda's shoulder. "Fire!" she cried in a grating voice. "Oh goddess, the children, what are you waiting for, get the children—"The rest of her sentence was lost in a gargling, choking whine. Her legs and arms began to twitch and flail wildly. Luda screamed for her father, trying to hold the girl's head steady. She fought, drumming her fingers on the hard-pressed earth. Renado came at a dead run, but by the time he reached the girl, she had stopped twitching, and seemed to pass into natural unconsciousness.

Renado knelt beside the girl and ordered Luda to prepare a pallet in the Sanctuary. She quickly ran off to obey. Only moments after Luda's departure, the stranger's eyes flickered open. Renado stared, speechless. Her eyes were milky white, but underneath the whiteness they appeared yellow. "Fire?" she whispered in a husky, choked voice.

Renado smiled down at her reassuringly, though he felt anything but confident. "There is no fire, friend. You are safe."

She shook her head. He winced when he heard the ripple of popping bones that followed this movement. "Fire . . ." she said, as though it caused her great pain to clearly enunciate. "Fire."

"I don't understand."

"I'm sorry, Highness." She sighed. There was a grating sound in it he didn't like, as though something were blocking her throat. She closed her eyes, weary to the bone. "The modern term is dondei. I didn't mean to get it wrong."

Renado lifted the girl, careful not to jolt her body in case of broken bones. He took her into the sanctuary and eased her limp body onto the pallet Luda had prepared. The stranger didn't open her eyes again. Luda attempted to undress her. She tugged the corner of the girl's ruined shirt and it disintegrated in her hand. She dropped the scrap of cloth like it had suddenly burst into flames. "Should we bathe her?" she asked. She stared at the still gray face as though fascinated. "She's covered in soot."

"I don't think she can be moved much farther," responded the shaman absently. He turned to his table and began to pull bottles off the shelf, muttering to himself. Vita, one of the attendants, entered the Sanctuary, having heard the commotion outside, and immediately came to their aid. Between Luda and Vita, the girl was cleaned and changed into a shift. Renado surveyed the burns and scars striping her flesh with a critical eye. He frowned. "What happened to you?" he wondered. "Where did those burns come from?" He turned back to his table and picked up a bottle full of burn-salve. "Has someone been torturing you, little one?"

"Father, look at her arms."

He looked closer. Luda rubbed a patch of soot from the girl's skin. It wiped away easily, revealing the pale skin beneath. There were fiery runes carved into her arms, her throat, her legs. Vita took a cloth and wiped the girl's hands clean. There were runes on her wrists too. Awed, Luda glanced at her father. "Why?" she asked in a choked voice.

"Signs of the Gods," he responded. The runes glowed orange, a secret heat deep in her skin gleaming from the very core of her soul.

"What do we do about them, Father?"

"We do nothing," said Renado simply. "They are her mark, her symbolto bear." He peered her face, pinched with effort and pain. "For now we can make her comfortable and see if she lives or dies."

The girl slept for three straight days. After that period she remained mostly comatose; her only interaction with the outside world was to scream in a foreign tongue, or disjointed sentences in Hylian. As she screamed, she rocked. Hands raised up in the air, she called, pleading, for a King. Other times she merely lay, muttering, tears running down her face. Sometimes she appeared to sing. Luda and Vita tried to bring her food, but she was never conscious. Eventually an anxious Luda resorted to tipping potions down the girl's throat. Meanwhile, Renado had his own challenges to face with his new charge. No ointment, cream, or poultice dimmed the glow of the reddish-orange runes, but gradually they began to change color. Renado assumed this must mean they were healing. For the burns he applied a yellow paste he had learned to make from an old Sheikah woman. Most people would have given up on the child, but Renado's oath to assist even the poorest of beggars forbade him from such an act of insensitivity. He abhorred anyone unwilling to save an innocent youth simply because it seemed difficult. He would make any effort to heal her wounds.

Renado and Luda worked on the small girl for days, toiling over her blistering, stinging burns. Eventually, they had to move her into the Inn, finding that a mere pallet in the Sanctuary did not support her frail body. The girl needed a place where water was easily accessible, and Renado felt that the Inn would be more comfortable when she awoke. The innkeeper, Myles, was more than welcoming of the poor waif. He was a man with two daughters, and found Renado's request to use his upstairs room more than reasonable. Every morning, Luda rose early to walk down the dusty street and check on the girl, bringing with her a basket of potions and salves, but every morning there was no change. The child remained, unconscious but alive, in between sleeping and death, hovering somewhere above the endless oblivion. Late at night, when she cried out in her misery to the unknown face of His Majesty, Renado wondered if she dreamed.

She did, in fact, dream.

The dreams would change her life forever.

* * *

**Maria, wake.**

But she did not want to wake. She wanted to lie here forever, hiding away from the massive fire that burned just outside the cave she inhabited. But something told her that if she stayed, she would never escape. She turned her head away from the light. Behind her, farther into the cave, was a black gate. It hung open on rusty hinges, forlorn and abandoned. A freezing blanket of mist drifted around the opening, coating the ground in white frost. She lay at the gates of death, and her only two choices were fire or eternal sleep.

**Rise, coward, and face me.**

She stared out into the world beyond her shadowy sanctuary. A winged creature stood just outside the mouth of the cave. It appeared humanoid, with soot-colored wings. The tip of every feather glowed with reddish fire. _It's the same color as Luna's eyes_, she thought wildly. The figure was motionless, a sword or a staff clenched in one hand. Maria crawled to the entrance, every muscle screaming with agony, her trembling fingers digging into the dirt, seeking any kind of handhold. Her own sword, she noticed belatedly, was gone. In fact, everything was. She wore only a shapeless gray dress. Her skin was the same color as the dress. She rubbed her arm with one finger. The gray came away at a touch: ash, grimed into her skin. She scrubbed harder, revealing the normal, healthy color beneath. She stared at her arm as though she had never seen it before, helpless to ignore the reddish-orange runes that marched around the flesh of her wrist. What could they mean?

**Face me, Child of the Sun. Face me or face the Scales of Judgment in the Court of the Afterlife.**

_But I'm afraid,_ she responded, her voice feeble and disjointed. She could picture herself in her mind; a weak, pathetic child, lying stretched out on her belly like a dog before a fireplace. _I don't want to_. She hated the whine in her voice. _It hurts!_

**Puling, sniveling coward, stand up and face your fate! Or cross through the gates into the afterlife, and save me many hours of wasted effort!**

That remark stung even her dreaming self. She growled and raised her head. It felt as though someone had smashed her several times with a hammer. She groaned, supporting her tender skull in one hand, too weak to lift it very far from the earthen ground.

**That's good. Now. Turn and face me.**

Her neck popped and crackled as she turned her head toward the cavern entrance. The sound of bones grinding against one another inside her skin was enough to make her sick, but she still moved. She looked up into its face: pale, masculine. He had the bluest eyes she had ever seen.

_What . . . what do you want_? Maria asked him, captivated by his unearthly face.

**I want you to live,** said the man grimly. His mental voice was _strong_, echoing in the chambers of her mind. He raised his staff. **But you won't unless you force yourself to stand up and face me.**

She hesitated, unwilling to try. _But . . . I'm tired. Let me rest, please?_

**No! You must stand up! Now!**

_Who are you? _That hateful whining quality would not leave her voice.

**You ****_will _****get up. You will face your fate, Maria Dragmire. Now or never.**

_Please._

**Get. Up.**

The girl bared her teeth. _I can't!_

**You can and you will! Get up, Maria, and face your fate.**

_Who are you? _She demanded, despairing. _What do you want? Why won't you just leave me alone?_

**My name is Doschei.**There it was, then. A name. Finally she could give this nameless stranger an identity. **I am a servant to the Gods. I act as their messenger, their protector, their ambassador. **His tunic, she noted, was white, trimmed with gold. Around his waist was a belt woven out of three colored cords; red, green, and blue.

_You are . . . a messenger?_

He spread his wings. They glowed fiercely. **Step out of the cavern, Maria. Escape the dead and the shadow of your fear. Your pain is only mental.**

Maria tilted her head. The thudding hammer-blows all along her body seemed real enough. _I can't get up_, she said helplessly. Consciousness was gradually washing away, turning to grayness before her eyes. Her vision clouded; she shook her head, trying to focus. She couldn't remember ever feeling so bone-weary in her entire life. _I'm so tired . . . I'm sorry, Doschei_

**Do you want to die, knowing that Lady Farore hates a coward? **

She scowled. _I'm not a coward. _

'**I'm not a coward,' **Doschei mocked. **All you've ever done is hide, run, beg for your life. You have the power to destroy anyone in your path. Did you know that? **

_ No . . . . _

**You have the power to do anything you want. Your father was one of the most powerful spell casters in the world. And your mother was no parlor magician either. You know nothing of yourself and what you're capable of! Could you quit cowering and face your true power?**

Gritting her teeth, Maria pulled herself up into a sitting position and rested her head on her knees. It was excruciating, but she endured the pain by sheer force of will. _How do you know my mother and father?_ she asked him.

Doschei's eyes glowed with grudging approval. **There are many worlds, girl. You are a product of another. I know this well. You are my responsibility. Now rise, weakling. Or I will punish you forevermore. **The girl shook her head, too afraid and too weak. Doschei was angry now. His beautiful blue eyes glowed in the black light. **Get up! Do it!**

Maria actually snarled. Every fiber of her turned to determination. Fear was replaced by a single imperative: obey. She had been beaten before. She had found her feet even as blows rained down upon her back, living to stand and resume her position. Obedience was ingrained in her, fueled by defiance for the weaknesses of the flesh. This was just another test, another late night in a stifling forge submitting to violence from a madman. She forced herself to her feet with one titanic effort. Her muscles shrieked in protest, her head roared with a blinding white agony . . . and then it was gone.

Stunned, Maria examined herself. Her legs trembled with effort, but they did not hurt. The burns had vanished. Her vision was clear. _Doschei? _she asked. _How . . . .? _

**You killed your own pain. You fought against your base impulses and won. **He actually smiled. **Pretty good, for a mortal.**

She smiled. _So. Can I go home now? I'm rather tired of being injured here._

Doschei shook his head. **Unfortunately, Maria, you cannot go home until you finish your quest.**

Maria sighed. _I thought so. What am I to do?_

**You were given an assistant in this quest. A Twili by the name of Luna. Think of her as a human compass. She points the way to your final objective, but she doesn't precisely know what it is.**

_Do you?_

**No. Din would not tell me. She has taken an interest in you, though. As a Daughter of the Sun, you are certainly one of Din's favored. **He chuckled at the hot blush that spread across Maria's cheeks. **Even if you are as pale as a lily, you still have the blood of a Gerudo. And you have passed Din's Test, the first in a series of tests you will undergo in this dimension.**

Maria's eyes widened. Horror filled her like a suffocating fog. _I have to do this again?_

**Not precisely. Din gave you a glimpse of what could happen in this world. Not necessarily what ****_will _****happen, if that relieves you. She wanted you to experience fire.**

_So she put me in a volcano?_

Doschei chuckled. Maria couldn't understand what he found humorous, but it was none of her business anyway. **Zant actually left you there. A suggestion from his God, who heard it directly from Din's lips.**

_Whatever the Gods will, I suppose,_ said Maria, sighing again. _So I am to follow Luna to . . . wherever?_

**Precisely. Along the way, you will be given challenges. Choices to make. Ways to improve this world. This world, called Anava by the Messenger's Guild—of which, you may have noticed, I am a member—is preparing for an intense change. Whether this change turns into a cataclysm rests not on your back, but the backs of others involved in your quest. You play a small role in something far bigger; you are setting the stage for a Hero to arise. In your world, this Hero was never needed. Here, he is essential.**

Maria closed her eyes, trying to absorb this information. A cataclysm? What did that have to do with a desert rat from another world? _Who is this Hero?_

**His name is Link.**

_Tell me about him_, demanded Maria.

Doschei shook his head. **In time, I will explain. For now, you must leave this place and find your way back into your own body. I will help you. You ****_must _****regain consciousness in the physical world, and you ****_must _****complete your quest. Luna will be waiting for you when you return. Are you ready, Maria? **

The girl glanced over her shoulder. The gate still swung slightly on its rusty hinge. To be dead would be a miracle. At least then she could join her family. But while King Ganondorf and his wife were dead, there were people she loved still alive in her own world. Nabooru. Her aunt Rasa, a woman she had not yet met. Runa, who tried to teach her to heal. Rane, Seva, even Enari. Family and friends. She needed to go home.

She met Doschei's sparkling eyes. _I am ready, _she said.

Doschei held out one hand. A flower bloomed in it, a flower full of radiance. **We will see each other again, Maria Dragmire. Luck to you.**

Maria closed her eyes and rose into oblivion.

* * *

_Painburningdeathfireohgodsmy lungsicannotbreathehelplunal unalunaluna—_

Her eyes flew open. She drew a ragged breath, her first conscious breath in this living world. It felt like daggers running down the vulnerable flesh of her throat, but it was still air; cool, clear, and wonderful. She pulled too much into her lungs at once and felt her airway close in protest. She coughed, choked, and forced herself to spit out the word, "Fire?"

There was a rustle of movement beside her. She sat up, ignoring the pain in her back and head, ready to run or fight. But it was just a man, tall and broad-shouldered, wearing some kind of simple robe. His long brown hair framed a hawk-like face.

"Where am I?" she whispered. It hurt to speak any louder.

"You're in Kakariko Village," said the man. His voice was deep and warm. He radiated peace like an aura, revealing the well of calm and serenity ingrained in his very bones. "Welcome back to the land of the living."

Maria relaxed. She allowed her body to roll back down into the warmth of the mattress. She was alive.

"Who are you?" she whispered, relishing the feel of words sliding along her tongue. It was a relief not to hear his voice clamoring in her head.

"My name is Renado," the man told her. He filled a little stone cup with water and lifted her into a sitting position. She drank slowly, not trusting her body yet. He sat down again and watched her, not saying a word. She was comfortable with his silence. She had never been one for words, and she suspected that soon he would start interrogating her. When he opened his mouth to speak, she braced herself for the questioning.

Renado surprised her. Instead of asking a question, he quietly said, "You can see."

Maria tilted her head. "What?"

"Your eyes. They were white when we found you. You appeared . . . blinded. But they're . . . amber now."

"I should hope," replied Maria.

"Is amber their normal color?" Maria nodded. Renado refilled her water cup. He seemed to study her, as though assessing her reactions to his comments. "Do you remember what happened to you, Miss?" he asked.

"Maria," she replied. "And . . . I don't remember."

Renado frowned, intent upon her answer. "Has someone been hurting you? There are scars and burns all across your body. Most are recent, but some . . . some are old."

Maria pondered on his comment for a while, trying to figure out the best way to answer. "Once," she said, choosing her words with care. "Once, someone hurt me. But . . . these wounds are my own doing."

"What happened?"

"Is there a volcano around?"

Renado drew in a hissing breath of shock. "You were exploring in Death Mountain?"

Though many things were different, it appeared that the names of things were similar here. "I was not exploring," retorted Maria, honestly offended. What did the man think she was? An idiot? "I . . . I witnessed it explode. I was inside of the explosion." Almost immediately she regretted her words. _Oh Gods, why did I . . . ._

Renado fixed her with a stern stare. "We live in the shadow of the Death Mountain Crater," he told her. "There have been no eruptions in my lifetime."

Maria frowned, affronted. If he had called her a liar, she might have struck him, shaman or no. "No . . . I know this. I . . . I had a vision."

"Are you a prophet?" He leaned close to her, his attention rapt. He seemed very interested in what she had to say. "Did you see Death Mountain come to life? When? Today? Tomorrow?"

"No," she said, frustrated. She sipped some water to wash the dry feeling out of her mouth, then took a deep breath and began again. This time her voice was stronger, more confident. "The vision I had . . . it was something that could have been. I . . . I was tested. And I think . . . I think I won."

"Tested by the Gods?" inquired Renado.

Maria hesitated. _Damn. I've said too much. Why did I bring this up?_

Renado touched the girl's cheek. It was warm but not feverish. She blinked at the contact. "I only ask," he said quietly, "because of the marks on your limbs."

"What marks?" Maria demanded.

"The hieroglyphs."

Maria suddenly remembered the glowing symbols she had seen in her dream. "You don't mean . . . ." She glanced down at her wrist. There they were, shimmering in the lamplight, words written in some arcane language upon her skin. But there was something different about them. In her vision, the letters had been orange and red, like fire burning deep within her. These runes were bluish. Like . . . .

_Luna._

It was unmistakable. The runes were Twili markings.

Maria looked up at Renado. "I don't understand," she said helplessly.

"We assumed they were a sign from the Gods." Renado's voice was touched with awe. "You have an incredible burden to bear, Miss Maria."

"Please," she replied, "just Maria." She tried to smile. It was difficult.

"Well, just Maria," said Renado, pleased when her smile widened, "I should leave you to your rest." He had seen the way her eyelids fluttered almost closed only to be again forced open. "But I have one more question for you, if I may?"

"Be my guest," said Maria, still smiling. It hurt, but Renado was kind. He put her at ease.

"Where do you come from? Forgive me for asking, but . . . in all my life I have not seen hair as red as yours. And your eyes . . . I have never seen golden eyes before."

Maria's smile shrank slightly. "Have you never seen the Gerudo people?"

Renado frowned. "There is a Gerudo _Desert . . . _but there have been no inhabitants in that wasteland for centuries."

Maria contemplated this for a moment. Loss and sorrow bled through her soul, leaving a vast emptiness. The Gerudo were gone? Was she the last Gerudo left? _It's not even like I'm an inhabitant of this world. I don't belong. Has this world moved on and left my people behind? _"What happened?"

"The last remnants of that tribe died out . . . years ago. There are some redheaded women still alive, but no men." The ghost of a smile flickered across his face. "I am told there is only one man in their entire tribe. If so, I have never seen him."

Maria felt her mouth twitch and was helpless to stop a sneer. "I have never seen him either."

"The legends say he was some kind of magician." Renado spoke mildly, but Maria sensed something in his voice. He didn't buy her story about being a Gerudo. In a world that had long since abandoned the desert tribe, she would have been surprised if he had. But her identity was her own, a truth she could carry with her like a secret flame. She raised her head a little higher, even though her neck muscles felt tight and stressed. For the first time, she was proud to be a Gerudo. Perhaps in time she could be could be a proud Dragmire, too.

"I've heard that too," she replied, equally sedate. "I'm sure he achieved great things in his life."

Renado's expression changed. Maria couldn't quite pin his emotion down, but she felt satisfaction nonetheless. _Take that_, she thought, smug, though she had no idea what there was to be smug about.

Renado inclined his head. "I am sure," he replied. "Now Miss Maria, I will leave you to your rest. Tomorrow I will return after breakfast and bring you some clothes and something to eat. If you feel strong enough, you can take a walk."

Maria smiled. "Thank you, Renado," she said. "Gods bless."

Renado bowed. "Gods bless, Maria," he replied, and left the room.

When he was gone Maria sank into her pillows. Talking was exhausting work. She closed her eyes against a wave of drowsiness. Tomorrow she would see what the future held for her, but tonight, she needed her rest.

As she slipped into unconsciousness, it occurred to her that she had not rattled Renado in the least. In fact, she may have given him another reason to distrust her.

_Oh well_, she thought sleepily, _I'll deal with that when it comes . . . ._

Blackness enfolded her in a warm blanket. She slept.

* * *

Renado called a private meeting that night to discuss the girl from nowhere.

Luda and Vita set out chairs and cushions for a small group of Kakariko townsfolk. They filed in one by one, and by nine they had all arrived. Barnes, as usual, was the last to saunter in.

Renado had not sent the assembly message to everyone, only the people he trusted. Barnes may have been an odd man with unusual habits and a brusque personality, but he and Renado had been friends for years. He took a seat on a cushion, eyed the woman beside him, and waited expectantly for Renado to begin.

"I suppose you know why I brought you here," said the shaman. Everyone fell silent and stared up at him like children anticipating a story. "The girl Luda found woke up this evening, around six. She told me . . . an interesting story. Her name is Maria, and she claims to be a Gerudo."

The townspeople stirred. "Gerudo?" asked Liana, the owner of the general store. She toyed with a lock of white-blonde hair and murmured, "isn't that what the man—"

"Yes, yes," said Renado crisply, cutting her off. "It is."

"Such a man," remarked Jon, Liana's wife.

"Such a _horse_," retorted Barnes. "I've never _seen _a horse that size! And eyes like fire, too!"

There was a mutter from the small assembly.

"A man of that size," said Jon. He opened his mouth to say more, but Liana put a gentle hand on his shoulder. He subsided and took her hand in his own.

"The man is not our concern right now," said Renado. "The question is the girl."

"If you're asking whether I'll charge her for the room or not, Renado," Myles spoke up, "I will not ask for any kind of repayment—"

Myles, too, was cut off by the exasperated shaman. "I am not asking about money," he said patiently. "I only want to know what it is we're supposed to _do _with her."

"That man _was _asking about little red-haired girls," said Liana. "And heaven knows what such a strange man would want with a girl . . . ."

"But are _we _safe if we allow her to stay?" demanded Barnes. "You saw what that . . . _man _. . . _that magician . . ._ did to me! I'm lucky to be alive!"

Renado resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "Then once she is healed, Barnes, I will ask her if she plans to leave. We will prepare her a pack of clothes and food and send her on her way. She is already well stocked with weaponry; Luda and Vita noticed that much when they undressed her. The girls will take her to the hot springs tomorrow and allow her to wash the ache out of her muscles."

"Do you think that's wise?" asked Liana nervously, still twisting her hair around her fingers. "She is very young . . . ."

"If she wants to leave I cannot stop her," was Renado's dry reply. "She is marked by fate; you can see that clearly. Whatever her fate, I cannot keep her here. She has to do this on her own."  
"It's a death sentence sending a child into Hyrule alone!" protested Liana. "These are dangerous times, Renado!"

Renado silenced her with a solemn stare. "If it is her fate," he said simply, "we cannot deny it."

The rest of their talk was fruitless and dull, full of pointless arguments and angry accusations. At eleven the townspeople left unsatisfied, wondering about the mysterious strangers that had invaded their town, and what would happen next.

* * *

Luna came to her at midnight, as Maria knew she would.

She crept into the little room with downcast eyes, holding her cloak tightly around herself, as if it could protect her from the predicted barrage of angry words that would surely follow. She spoke not a word, but stepped to Maria's bedside with trembling lips.

Maria had awoken the moment she felt Luna enter the inn. She was awake now, watching Luna with an unreadable expression. Finally, she said, "Zant had a trap for me."

Luna started visibly. At her words, a tear rolled down the Twili's face. "He put me in the dark," she said. There was a hitching, uneven tone to her voice, as if she were close to breaking down and bawling. "I couldn't escape. It was like going to sleep for a long time . . . and then when I woke up, I was alone in a huge field. I walked . . . and I walked . . . for hours. Then I found you. And . . . now I'm here." She raised her arms and then let them fall, a gesture of pure helplessness. "Don't be angry with me, please?"

Maria tilted her head. "I'm not angry with you," she told Luna. "I went away for a while too. I had a vision. And . . . I was tested by Din."

Luna's jaw dropped. She looked like a fool, but her astonishment was too great to remain impassive. "The Goddess of Power Herself?"

"Yes. She wanted to test me. I guess I did all right, huh?" She chuckled and winced. Her head still ached something fierce. "In the morning we can get back on the trail, eh? Finish this quest and perhaps not die in the process?"

Luna shifted on her feet. "That's the problem, Maria," she said, sounding embarrassed. "Um . . . you know how I told you I'm being guided by the Gods?"

Maria scowled. "Yes?"

"I . . . for the longest time it felt like I had fishhook in my head, pulling me, us, one way or another. I could almost _see _the line drawn in the dirt, subtly, you know, that showed us where to go. Now . . . I see nothing. I don't know what happened, Maria, but the path has been closed."

Maria closed her eyes. She felt crushed beneath a sickening weight of dismay and horror. The world seemed to fade before her eyes. Her teeth found the cut on her lip and bit down; the fresh pain brought the clarity back into her vision. "Oh, no, Luna, what do we do?" She heard a whine in her voice, thought of Doschei, and winced. She could not let this setback defeat her. "What can we do if we can't find out how to go home?"

Luna sat on the bed and took her hand. "We're going to do whatever we can," she said, sounding more confident than she felt. "When we leave this . . . charming little village . . . we can find the path again. Right?"

Maria tried to smile. "Right." She squeezed Luna's hand. She was unused to this kind of contact, but somehow it felt good. Comforting. Like a mother's touch. Impulsively she sat up and threw her arms around Luna's shoulders. "Thank you," she whispered into the flame of the Twili's hair. "Thank you for being my friend."

Luna patted her head awkwardly. "All right, I can tell _you _need to rest. You're getting all sentimental."

Maria chuckled and wiped her eyes. "I _do _need rest," she whispered. She lay back and sank into the pillow. "Good night, Luna."

"Good night kid," the woman replied. She dove into Maria's shadow and remained there, watching over her charge, for the rest of the night.

Maria's dreams were filled with her father's dying face, the feeling of falling from the Sanctuary roof, and the echoing shriek of Zant's mad laughter.

* * *

**This was a little rushed. It might be a little flawed. Please review and let me know what I screwed up on.**


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